I'm sorry, I'm not Will Horton
by whoawhoa92
Summary: It's year 2020. Liam Robertson has gotten a new job as a chef in the increasingly popular Titan Hotel. Little did he know that he would be taking a blast from the past. A WilSon, Horita, PaulSon, PillSon story with lots of Jabi! :D Set 5 years after Will Horton got strangled by Ben Weston.
1. Chapter 1

CHAPTER ONE

"His heart rate is increasing… I think we are getting him back!" The blonde unconsciously heard multiple voices ringing in his head.

Wondering where he is at, he took all the effort in his weak body to open his eyes.

"Will! Will! Can you hear me?" The first person the blonde saw was a brunette anxiously staring at him.

"Who… am I? Who… are you? And why am I bed-ridden?" The blonde painstakingly muttered out every single word while trying to sit up.

"Can you remember anything before you passed out?'' The brunette asked turning the blonde's pillows behind him vertical for him to lean on.

"I have no recollection of whatsoever. I don't even know who I am'' the blonde replied.

The brunette stared at him for a few moments and then turns on the TV in front of him "Will, you just watch some TV and take a rest. It has been a long day, enjoy some cartoons before going to bed. I will explain everything tomorrow."

The brunette walked out of the ward and started dialing a number on his iPhone.

"Father, I need a brand new passport, ID, driver's license and a private jet to New York ASAP I will fill you in on the details later." The brunette hurriedly walked out of the laboratory making sure no one saw him.

"He has lost his memory; I can't let Ben hurt him any longer. Forgive me Will." The brunette thought to himself.

-The Next Morning-

After a good night's sleep, a sandwich and two cups of chocolate pudding for breakfast, the blonde felt much more energized as he was laughing at Spongebob and Patrick singing 'The Campfire Song Song'.

What the blonde didn't know was that the brunette was looking at him from the glass panel window from outside his room.

"This is his only chance to be happy, to be able to start afresh from all that he has been through. Will, you always wished for a drama-free life. I know life has not been easy for you. Today, things are going to change. I am going to grant you your wish. I am so sorry you were implicated in my love triangle between Ben, Abby and I. This is my way of making it up to you" The brunette thought to himself.

"Hey buddy! How are you feeling?"

"I am feeling much better now! Thank you for bringing me to the hospital! Can I switch to a smaller room? I'm not sure if I can afford a private room." The blonde replied.

"Relax! I got it all covered!" The brunette chuckled before turning off the TV.

"Now I'm gonna tell you about what happened before you passed out" The brunette turned off the TV, took a stool forward and sat by the bed.

"You are a chef that was stuck in a restaurant that was on fire. By the time the firefighters came, you had fainted already." The brunette said.

The brunette stood up and placed a suitcase on the blonde's lap opening it.

"Inside this suitcase I have a driver's license, a passport, a paper with your address in New York on it and apartment keys."

The brunette then closed the suitcase and places his hands on the blonde's shoulders.

"Listen to me carefully; someone is out to kill you. So I need you to get on the plane to New York in 5 hours and start a new life" The brunette quickly closed the suitcase.

"How can I ever thank you for doing so much for me?" The blonde asked

"Oh! I forgot to tell you, you have been admitted into the Institute of Culinary Education to brush up your cooking skills. Start a new simple life as a chef and stay happy! That's how you can repay me!" The brunette winked before leaving.

The blonde quickly open the briefcase and saw the passport.

Liam Robertson it stated on the passport. He counted the how old he was from the year he was born realizing he was 22 years old.

"With Eight hundred grand, culinary school and a new apartment, Liam Robertson will start anew!" The blonde thought to himself


	2. Chapter 2: Life in New York

A/N: This is my first fanfic so I am EXTREMELY unfamiliar with how FF works. I have also forgotten to add that Chad provided Will with Eight hundred thousand dollars in the suitcase to start a new life. I didn't know I will be unable to re-edit my chapter yeah I'm writing it down now.

Once again, please feel free to add in any constructive criticisms or suggestions. I may not be able to accept all of them but I hope to seek room for improvement as I have never done something like this before.

This chapter I wanna show how NYC has drastically changed Will. He will be written a little out of context here but hey, it's a completely brand new Will we are talking about here.

Hope yall R&R!

* * *

CHAPTER TWO

Liam spent the next eight months completing his Diploma of Culinary Arts. He wondered how he had forgotten all his culinary skills as he started out being pretty bad at it. Even when one loses his memory, that person's skills and ability should remain intact.

Sometimes he wonders whether the brunette that saved him was hiding something. However, he had not heard anything from him ever since. "Eight hundred grand, an apartment in Queens and a chance to start all over, only an idiot would turn such an offer down!" He thought to himself.

During his free time, Liam would often attend a Church along Woodhaven for bible study and even prepared refreshments after church choir practice and Sunday services. He grew closer to the people in church as they made him feel welcomed. Upon knowing his lost of memory, the ministers often invited him over for dinner and special events such as Fourth of July and Thanksgiving.

Liam soon took a liking for the minister's daughter, Tameka. Initially, the minister was a little skeptical as he never expected his daughter to go through with inter-racial dating as well as a man with no history or no future. However, a year after culinary school, Liam started a small Italian restaurant which quickly gained positive reviews among critics. On top of that, he became one of New York's most popular food bloggers.

Trusting that Liam was able to provide for his child, the minister eventually gave his blessing to Liam and Tameka. In three months, they held a simple wedding in church to get married.

Liam was happy, he felt complete. He finally got a stable business, a wife and most importantly, a family to call his own.

* * *

Liam was waiting outside the operation room with his parents-in-law, his heart was racing and he was scared out of his wits recalling what the gynecologist told him earlier.

" _Your wife's blood pressure is extremely high; she may not be able to pull through this delivery." The doctor warned._

" _Please! Whatever you do, you have to save my wife!" Liam pleaded._

His thoughts were interrupted when the gynecologist left the operation room.

"How is my wife? How is her blood pressure? Has the baby been delivered?" Liam rushed towards him frantically shaking him up.

"The good news is that your baby boy has come into this world safely and soundly, you are now a father." The doctor said.

"Praise the Lord! Can we go into the operation room to see my daughter and grandchild?" The minister asked.

"I… am afraid I have some bad news as well" The doctor slowly said.

Liam slowly gulped preparing to hear the worst.

"Mrs Robertson has lost too much blood, I'm sorry but I don't think she has much time left. You may enter" The doctor sternly said.

The three of them rushed into the room and saw the brown-skinned woman covered in perspiration with her black hair all over the place lying on the bed.

"Babe! Are you alright? Talk to me! " The blonde frantically asked

"Liam, I… don't think I will be able to hold much longer so I want you to listen to me." Tameka softly spoke

"No! If you wanna say anything say it when you get discharged!" Liam cried.

"Liam, I want you to take care of our Devon James Robertson. Do not blame him for losing me. Protect him, love him and raise him up well." Tameka struggled through her sentence before she let go of Liam's hand and blanked out.

And there he was, Liam Robertson at the age of 26, widowed with a newborn.

For some reason Liam felt this pain all too real and too soon. What He couldn't understand is why this excruciating pain feels so strangely familiar. It was as if He has been through this same pain over and over before.

* * *

-Ten months later-

" _Ari, be careful not to cycle down the slope! You will fall!" Liam shouted_

 _Liam saw a blonde toddler cycling at the park. He couldn't stop smiling at the girl. For some reason, He felt like he knew her for a long time._

" _AHHHHH! AHHHHH!"_

 _Liam saw the toddler accidentally overturned her tricycle and fell down and it made him panicked._

" _Ari! Are you alright?"_

"ARGGGGGHHHHHHHHH! ARRGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHH!"

It was 8am on a Monday morning when the blonde, yellow-skinned infant was crying his eyes out. Liam woke up feeling a little irritated as the restaurant was closed on Mondays, allowing him to sleep in.

"A parent needs to do what a parent needs to do" The single dad sighed to himself.

Liam went to the bathroom to take a diaper, carried Devon out of his cot and made his way to the kitchen to prepare milk.

Placing Devon into the sink, he opened the pantry and reached for the milk powder. Liam had no idea why but he was quite a professional with handling babies. His parents-in-law were quite shocked when he was able to carry Devon correctly on his first try.

"There you go, son!" Liam placed the tip of the milk bottle into his mouth.

While feeding Devon, flashes suddenly come to his head.

" _Do you like your pink dress Ari?"_ He remembered asking

" _Pretty! Pretty!"_ the toddler exclaimed _._

Looking into Devon's eyes, Liam realized how much the toddler in his dream resembled his own son.

"I must be watching too much TV" Liam concluded.

Liam went into his bedroom to place his son back in the cot. Just then, his cell phone rang.

"Hello" Liam answered

"Hi! I'm looking for Liam Robertson?" The voice on the phone answered

"This is He; may I know what is this concerning?"

"I'm Felicia Daly calling from the New York branch of Titan industries. Our company is building a new hotel called Hotel Titan in the company's hometown Salem near Chicago. We are currently looking for the finest Italian chef for our hotel restaurant all over the country. It seems that your restaurant has been getting raving reviews from various food blogs all over New York. We would like to offer you a job as our new chef in Hotel Titan. Not to worry, we will provide you with accommodation there. We can meet up to discuss further details."

* * *

A/N: So that's it pls R&R! :D


	3. Chapter 3: The job offer

A/N: Hi everyone! Thanks for the reviews and criticisms so far. I know some of yall are unhappy with Liam (Will) marrying a woman but I need a contrast between Liam and Will.

CHAPTER THREE

A club TBD waiter entered his boss' office.

"Mr Kiriakis, your great-uncle Vic is here to see you" the Club TBD waiter said.

"Tell him I will be out in a few moments" Sonny replied.

"Uncle Vic! What brings you here?" Sonny asked walking out of his office.

"Well! I came here to see how you are doing. Plus, I'm here to talk about business with you. Why don't you and I have a chat in your office?" Victor replied.

"Sure, no problem! Ken, bring some mocha latte into my office"

* * *

"So Uncle Vic, now you got coffee, would you tell me what would you like to discuss with me?" Sonny asked.

"Jackson, I'm here to discuss with you about two things."

Victor then pulls out his iPad and shows him a few pictures of Hotel Titan.

"As you know, Titan industries have been planning to venture into tourism. We hope that our efforts will attract more tourists with the starting up of Hotel Titan. Unfortunately, La Strada's restaurant manager will be leaving in 4 months time. I would like you to take over the hotel restaurant." Victor explained.

"Uncle Vic, as tempting as that sounds you know I have Club TBD to run" Sonny sighed.

"This club is has not been doing well over the past year. You are struggling to breakeven! You have forfeited your own salary for the past 3 months to provide wages for your staff. Why not just cut your losses?" Victor began to raise his voice.

"I have spent the past eight years building this club. Yes, there are rough days but I have come too far to let it go. Plus, there are too many memories I have built here." Sonny agitatedly replied.

Knowing that his grand-nephew is as stubborn as he is, Victor used his thumb and middle finger to rub his temples.

"Just think about it. OK?" Victor conceded.

"Alright, I will check La Strada out before I give my answer. Is that fair?"

Victor nodded upon hearing Sonny's reply.

"Onto the next thing I wanna discuss with you about. This is a more personal matter"

Victor opened the word document on his iPad and showed him pictures of various men who appears to be around his age.

"I'm planning on setting up a few blind dates for…"

"Uncle Vic! I told you I'm not interested. I don't have time for romance. I'm thirty-year-old single dad. I doubt anyone would want me" Sonny interrupted while looking at his watch.

"Oh it's a quarter to four, time to pick up Ari from baseball practice, gotta go!" Sonny quickly grabbed his coat and rushed out of his office.

"It's been five years and he's still not over him" Victor thought to himself.

* * *

"Oh hell no! Raising the rent by two grand? That's wack!" Liam shouted

"Well, the cost of living is increasing. Plus, the restaurants opposite have increased their rent by four five grand so I'm giving you a discount already." The landlady rebutted.

"Look sister! I have a son to feed, bills to pay, and salaries to give out. I understand if you said increasing the rent by five hundred but you trying me by increasing the rent by two grand!" Liam raised his voice getting angrier.

"Your restaurant is one of the most popular restaurants in the big apple. I don't see a problem with you getting by." The landlady replied.

"Well, try being a single dad to a ten and a half month old infant, buying her milk and diapers and spending a quarter of your salary hiring a nanny then you and I will talk." Liam waved his finger at the landlady and himself.

"Ok! My final offer is a thousand eight and that's the lowest I can go, I will give you a few days to think about it" The landlady end their conversation by walking out of the restaurant.

* * *

"Hey Tamela! Thanks so much for taking care of Devon tdy. The nanny is down with flu." Liam offered his hands for his mother-in-law to pass his son into his arms.

"No problem! We love to have our grandson around! It's definitely not easy juggling Devon and the restaurant. I would love to take care of Devon anytime!" His mother-in-law smiled.

"So where's Ernest?" Liam asked as they were heading for the living room.

"Your father-in-law is now in the Bronx giving messages and providing food rations at the homeless shelter in the Bronx. He's been working really hard with this evangelism project of his." Tamela replied.

"You know, if he ever needs help with the food supplies, the restaurant will be willing to…"

"No! You have provided free pasta for the homeless shelter when the project first started out we can't let you do this again." Tamela replied.

"The evangelism project was started up by Ernest and Tameka. I can't let Tameka's efforts go down the drain. This was practically her baby, which means it's also my baby" Liam stated.

"Furthermore, you guys aren't just my parents-in-law. You guys gave me friendship, warmth and most importantly a family despite not knowing who or what I am. You are practically my parents." Liam continued.

"Look, I know you are doing everything you can not just for Devon but also for us. We do treat you like our own son. But if you keep cooking for the homeless shelter you probably gon incur losses and we can't have that."

"So, how's the restaurant doin? And how have you been holding up?" Tamela asked trying to change the subject .

"To be honest, not too good." Liam sighed.

"How so?" Tamela asked

"The landlady just came to the restaurant today, she raising the rent by two grand." Liam admitted.

"Two grand? She got some nerve! She playin you when she provides yall with a faulty fridge and a raggedy ass stove which has not been working for months!" Tamela indignantly raised her voice.

Liam shrugged his shoulders "What am I supposed to do? Gotta keep the business going right?"

"The restaurant has been doin well, why don't yall just find another location." Tamela suggested.

"I can't, I did check other locations. They have increased the rent by three four grand. Furthermore… the restaurant is where… I proposed to Tameka." Liam trailed off.

"Oh child, it's been ten months already. I think it's time to let go of the past" Tamela said as she placed both her hands on his shoulder.

"I can't, there's too many memories of Tameka and I in that restaurant. She helped out a lot in this restaurant as well. I can't…" Liam could not finish his sentence as tears began welling up in his eyes.

"Oh honey! I know it hurts… we are talking my daughter here. But we need to move on. Devon needs a father that can depend on him. Ernest and I treat you like our son too. We don't want any of our children to suffer any longer" Tamela comforted.

Tamela knew that even though she would be miles away from her grandson, She knew that this would be Liam's only chance to get some form of closure over her daughter's demise.

Tamela placed her hands on Liam's shoulders, wiping off the tears in his eyes.

"Given the current situation you are in, I think what's best for you is to close down the restaurant since business is good giving your staff severance pay shouldn't be a problem. Next you leave New York, take the job offer up in Salem, and start afresh." Tamela concluded.

"But what about Devon? Won't you…" Before Liam could continue Tamela placed a finger on his lips.

"Honey it's 2020 there's Skype, FaceTime and so many other ways to communicate. I will talk to Ernest about this. I know he will understand."

"But New York is my home, and you and Ernest are my real parents" Liam knew he was losing this debate but he still had to put up a good fight.

"If you treat me like your real mother, you do as I say" Tamela sternly poke his chest.

* * *

"Alright Team, great job today! Go back home and rest early. I will see you next week!" The asian coach told the bunch of elementary school kids.

Sonny who was sitting at the bleachers walked towards his step-daughter.

"How's practice today sweetheart?" Sonny asked.

"With all that running around today, I'm soooo tired. Papa Sonny can we go for ice-cream pleeeeaaaase?" Arianna asked.

"We will have ice-cream, but only after your finish your homework." Sonny sternly told Arianna.

Sonny and Arianna then walked towards her baseball coach.

"Hey Paul! Thank you so much for taking care of Ari! I try not to place too much burden on my parents, Lucas or Marlena so I really appreciate you taking her into the team." Sonny said.

"Don't worry about it! Ari is pretty good at the game herself. She earned her spot into the team." Paul replied.

* * *

The moment Liam reached home, he placed Devon into the cot, showered and sloppily fell onto his bed. As police cars were always driving noisily around the neighbourhood, he reached the drawer of his bedside table to search for a pair of ear muffs. Unable to find any, he looked over the bedside table on the other side.

Just as he opened the drawer, he saw Tameka's iPod.

Realizing he haven't seen this gadget in ages, he took a pair of earphones attached to it and press 'shuffle'. Given Tameka's liking for mainly Soul and R&B he was surprised to see a Snow Patrol song on her ipod…

 _I'll sing it one last time for you  
Then we really have to go  
You've been the only thing that's right  
In all I've done._

 _And I can barely look at you  
But every single time I do  
I know we'll make it anywhere  
Away from here_

 _Light up, light up  
As if you have a choice  
Even if you cannot hear my voice  
I'll be right beside you dear  
Louder, louder  
And we'll run for our lives  
I can hardly speak I understand  
Why you can't raise your voice to say_

 _To think I might not see those eyes  
It makes it so hard not to cry  
And as we say our long goodbyes  
I nearly do._

 _Light up, light up  
As if you have a choice  
Even if you cannot hear my voice  
I'll be right beside you dear  
Have heart my dear  
We're bound to be afraid  
Even if it's just for a few days  
Making up for all this mess._

Something about the song spoke to Liam. It was as if Tameka was speaking to through the song. That's when he knew what he had to do.

* * *

"Hello everyone! I have an announcement to make" Liam said as all his staff was gathered together every morning for staff meetings.

Liam mustered up all the courage he had before finally speaking.

"I'm closing down the restaurant by the end of the month"

* * *

A/N: ok so that's please tell me what yall think! R&R! :D


	4. Chapter 4: Rock-climbing

A/N: Hey yall! Thanks so much for all your support and all your reviews. Ok in this chapter, shit's bout to get real! So enjoy! :D

* * *

CHAPTER FOUR

"Alright team! Take five!" The baseball coach told the bunch of kids as they run towards the water dispenser at the bleachers for a drink.

"Hey coach! Wait up!" the blonde girl quickly ran towards Paul and began interrogating him.

Arianna knew her coach has been carrying a torch for Sonny since she could remember. Aside from being Arianna's coach, Paul has slowly become a second no scratch that, a third father to her. Paul was there for her throughout her growing years and part of her always wanted Paul to become family.

"So coach, where are you going to take Papa Sonny tomorrow tonight?" Arianna asked using her elbow to nudge Paul.

"Well I know that he's been really stressed with making ends meet at the club, so tonight I'm gonna help him free his mind a little and loosen up at the rock-climbing centre I know it's not a real mountain but I guess I have to make do with that for now." Paul smiled as he shrugged his shoulders.

"That's great! Papa Sonny has been so wind down with work I haven't seen him smile in ages! You know I got your back! And here's the honest truth, I really want you to be my stepfather to my adoptive father! So don't you dare give up on him!" Ari warned.

"You can count on it Ari! I will take however long it is for your Papa Sonny to accept me!" Paul smiled while ruffling his hair.

* * *

"Ok sweetheart, Paul and I are going out tonight and please try not to make peanut butter milkshake with the blender…"

"Alright alright Papa, you are a broken record. You just have a good time with Paul and not worry about anything in the house. Aunt Theresa will be bringing Tate over in a few minutes. Get ready for your date!" Ari urged him as she pushed her stepfather into his bedroom and closed the door.

-A few minutes later-

Sonny came out of his bedroom telling Arianna "Ok Arianna, here's a list of emergency numbers that…"

Arianna look at Sonny from top to toe as she hears her him instructing her before interrupting "Really? This is the best you are gonna wear? Your everyday checkered shirts? Come on!"

Arianna pushed him back into the bedroom and opened his closet rummaging through his clothes before finding a light grey short-sleeve club-collared shirt.

"There put this on!" Arianna said as she threw the shirt at Sonny.

Realizing how excited Arianna is for him about his night out with Paul, Sonny decided to sit Arianna down on the bed to have a few words with her.

"Ari, sweetie Paul and I, we're just friends, probably the best of friends. But there's nothing more to it." Sonny explained.

"Oh come on Papa! I see the way he looks at you during baseball practice. I also know that you do share some feelings for him. What's holding you back?" Arianna explained.

Arianna then held both of Sonny hands. "So far, it's just been you, Mom and I in our family. As Mom needs to go for photoshoots around the country, you were the one that was always there to guide and protect me. And when you aren't around, it was Paul that took care me letting me stay over at his apartment and fetching me to school. Paul treats Mom well, Paul treats me well and most importantly, he treats you well. I don't wanna lose him."

Hearing what his daughter just said, Sonny placed his hands over her cheeks "Oh Arianna, these are matters of the heart. As you grow older you have to understand that love takes time to develop. We can't just dive into a relationship in an instant."

*DING DONG*

"It must be Paul!" Arianna excitedly ran for the door while Sonny trailed after.

Arianna opened the door to find Paul, Theresa and Tate standing there.

"Hey you guys! Theresa, thanks so much for taking care of Ari for the night. I really appreciate it!" Sonny smiled.

"No problem it's my pleasure. Ari, Tate and I are having a movie night!" Theresa replied.

* * *

Liam Robertson was bored… BORED!

Living in the big apple has definitely spoiled Liam Robertson rotten. The moment he arrived Salem he had no idea what to do. As he walked around Horton Town Square with his stroller, he only saw a club called TBD a few restaurants and the Brady Pub which looks more like a diner.

"This town is drowned in placidity the only excitement I'd probably get here is from waiting for frozen meat to thaw." Liam thought to himself.

Liam then entered Club TBD hoping to ask whether there are some tourist attractions in Salem.

"Excuse me, I'm new in town and frankly I have no idea what to do in this town. I was hoping if I can find I don't know some sights to see, some places to shop or something something like that?" Liam asked the waiter at the counter.

"Hi! Welcome to Salem, and welcome to Club TBD! Let me just go and find some brochures and flyers about the activities Salem have. As you can tell we are a small town so we tend to have various town activities to well… make life less boring."

The waiter turned around and walked towards the blonde offering him some tourist brochures when he gave the blonde a second look.

"Hold up! You're Liam Robertson! You're the chef and the celebrity food blogger from New York aren't you?" The waiter asked. "I LOVE YOUR BLOG! I'm such a big fan of yours. Thanks to you, I finally know how to cook my steak medium rare. My mom loves it!" The waiter excitedly rambles on.

"Well the best way to a woman's heart is through her stomach. If you try that on your boo, you got her" Liam winked as he promised.

"Well here are some brochures, oh and the rock-climbing centre is now having a 25% discount which lasts until the end of the month. Don't miss out on that!" The waiter replied.

"So how long will you be here for?" The waiter asked.

"Well, I actually just moved from New York. I just got a job offer at the restaurant in Hotel Titan, I'm officially a Salemite… if that's what y'all yourselves. "

"NO WAY! I can totally ask you for cooking tips and bring dates to the restaurant!" The waiter raised his voice in elation.

"No worries, just holler if you need me. But you buying your own ingredients." Liam wrote his number and passed it to the waiter.

* * *

"I'm sorry I know we are supposed to go for rock-climbing but Ken just told me the order for the new coffee machines have just arrived and I will need to check on it real quick. I also left my cellphone in the office." Sonny apologized.

"Hey no worries, you're a businessman! A man's gotta do what a man's gotta do! Don't worry about it take all the time you need" Paul assured him as they quickly enter Club TBD.

"Hey Ken! May I know where the coffee machines are?" Sonny asked.

"Not to worry Boss Man, they are in the storeroom. Oh! You'd never guess who came into the Club earlier. New York Celebrity chef and blogger Liam Robertson!" Ken exclaimed.

"Wow! I didn't know you will get so excited. But who is he again?" Paul asked.

"Only the American equivalent of Curtis Stone. Not only is he a kick ass chef but he's also hell of a good-looker. The comments on his blog about his looks and built are never-ending!" Ken explained.

"Well Paul! It seems you're not the hottest male celebrity in town anymore" Sonny joked.

"Hey! I'm a baseball legend, I'm a timeless piece of treasure." Paul argued jokingly.

* * *

"Gosh! I didn't know the queue would be so long. I'm so sorry that you have to end up here waiting." Paul said regrettably as they were waiting in a long queue at the rock-climbing centre.

"Hey it's not your fault. If there's a 25% discount, of course the place would be packed." Sonny encouraged.

"I just… really wanted to make this night perfect you." Paul muttered.

In an attempt to cheer Paul up, Sonny gave him a peck on his cheek.

"There do you feel better now?" Sonny asked.

Paul was startled. He never thought he'd saw the day that Sonny will make the first move. Butterflies were flying in his stomach. Before he could respond…

"Ooh! I think I need to go to the bathroom now. Nature calls. I'll be right back" Sonny quickly ran out of the queue and headed for the gents.

* * *

When Sonny went out of the toilet he heard a slightly-familiar voice. However, he couldn't exactly whom the voice belonged to. Even though the accent of that voice was unique, he felt as if he heard this voice a million times. He followed the sound when he saw the side-view of a blonde man with a stroller.

"Come on DJ! Daddy's arms and legs are sore from all that rock-climbing. Why don't we get some dinner and then catch the latest episodes of 'Scandal' and 'How to Get Away with Murder' hmmmmm?" The blonde spoke into the stroller and then headed for the entrance.

Sonny was stunned for a moment, he had no idea what to think. But what He knew what was right before his very eyes.

"Will!" Sonny shouted.

Sonny quickly jostled through a few small crowds and ran after the blonde but by the time he ran outside the rock-climbing centre, the blonde was nowhere to be found.

"Did I just saw Will or was that my imagination?" Sonny thought.

"In no way that could be Will, he's afraid of heights. He wouldn't do rock-climbing." Sonny muttered to himself in disappointment.

* * *

A/N: ok that's it! So please tell me what yall think! R&R! :D


	5. Chapter 5: the collision

CHAPTER FIVE

"So today was really fun, I never had someone cheered me up in a long time." Sonny commented

"Yeah it was…" Paul replied.

Paul didn't know whether Sonny was telling the truth. It seemed that after Sonny went to the restroom, he seemed to be lost in deep thoughts. During dinner, Sonny barely spoke a word and stared out the window.

"You seemed to be pretty lost in your thoughts tonight. What's the matter? Are you still worried about the club?" Paul asked before placing his hand on Sonny's shoulder.

"Well, I've been thinking about selling the club it has been incurring losses. I don't know whether I should. Sorry, I know we are supposed to be having fun but here I am being a killjoy pouring out my worries." Sonny lied, knowing that telling Paul about who he saw earlier would make things awkward.

"Hey! I totally understand, Brady also has his moments when he's worried about Titan. I believe that you will get through this phase." Paul comforted.

"My Uncle Vic has offered me a job at Hotel Titan. He wants me to be the restaurant manager of La Strada. I'm actually considering taking up the offer and selling Club TBD but there are too many memories there. Too many memories I've built there… too many memories of Ari too many memories of…" Sonny trailed off. Just then, Paul knew then whose name Sonny was about to say.

* * *

Paul went back to his apartment, took a shower cleaning himself from all the perspiration he worked up from rock-climbing and sat on his bed. He then reached for his bedside table, pulled out the drawer and took out a photo, stared it before placing his thumb on the blonde's face in the picture.

He began recalling all the good times he shared with the blonde.

" _All you care about is your damn article!" Paul shouted at Will_

" _Paul, if you don't want me to write anything about you being gay it's gone. I have plenty to write about you." Will explained to him._

" _I'm sorry it's just so…"_

" _I know, it can get confusing I went through it too" Will helped Paul finished his sentence._

And then there were the bad times…

" _Why would Sonny want me when he can have you?!" Will cried._

Looking at Will in the wedding photo he stole from Sonny's apartment Paul couldn't help but feel jealous of Will for having so much power over Sonny. At the same he felt jealous of Sonny and He could find someone who was so kind that he was willing to help someone come out of the closet. He knew that without Will, he wouldn't be where he was today and probably be still hooking up with guys on the sly.

"Damn you, Will Horton. Ever since your death, I can't stop thinking about you. Not only do you have power over Sonny, do you realize the power you have over me?" Paul muttered.

He looked at Sonny standing beside Will in the photo, wondering will Sonny ever get over Will.

"It's ridiculous how much I'm in love with the both of you. Yet no matter how hard I try, I can't get either of you" Paul sighed.

Paul knew he grew to love Will despite his various antics to drive him out of Salem. Looking back, he would have done the same thing if the tables were turned. No matter how hard he tried to resent him for even blackmailing his mom, he couldn't. He knew that calling his feelings for Will strong was an understatement.

"Will Horton, you got me twisted. Even when you're dead, I can never have you or Sonny." Paul muttered before placing the photo back into drawer and turned off the nightlight.

* * *

"No Kyla! That's not how you sear a cod fillet, the skin ain't even crispy and why did you use olive oil? You trying to make the cod taste bitter?" Liam angrily turned on off the stove and put the frying pan aside before massaging the bridge of his nose.

Liam took another frying pan hanging on the hooks off the wall and a bottle of sunflower oil.

"First of all, no non-stick pans when searing a fish those take FOREVER to heat up. Secondly, sunflower or canola oil for pan-frying. Didn't you learn anything in culinary school?" Liam chided turning on the stove.

Just then a waiter entered the kitchen.

"Excuse me Mr Robertson, a customer would like to see you. He's would like to make a comment on his entrée." The waiter informed.

"Ok I'll be right there. Kyla, once the oil is heated, turn the heat to medium. Remember the thicker the cod, the lower the heat, the longer it takes to cook!" Liam advised while walking out of the kitchen.

"Ok, time to put my fake smiley face on! Robertson you can do this…" Liam sighed before putting a plastic smile on his face.

"Hi Sir! Is the food to your liking? If it isn't may I know how we can improve it?" Liam asked.

"Hi chef! I was just saying that your steak is extremely succulent I love it! Edward Simmons, Principal of Salem Elementary School." The middle-aged man stood up to shake Liam's hand.

Realizing that he wasn't going to receive a complaint, Liam sighed in relief "Why thank you! Comments like yours always make my day" Liam truthfully replied.

"Listen, I'm actually here to ask a favour of you. Salem Elementary is actually doing a fund-raising project for the construction of our multi-purpose football and baseball field. I was wondering whether you would like to take part in organizing our fund-raising carnival. We are hoping that you would be able to contribute or set up a food stall for our carnival." The principal explained.

Liam shrugged his shoulders. "Well, in the spirit of becoming a true citizen of Salem, I would love to take part in it! Leo, pen and paper." The waiter walking pass him offered his notepad and pen for Liam to write his name and number down. "If you need any help, here's my number" Liam tore off the paper from the notepad and passed it to Principal Simmons.

"Awesome, I will just inform Coach Narita, the baseball coach about it and we will find a date and time to discuss!" Principal Simmons replied before asking for the bill.

* * *

"Hey Ken! I would like to know who's doing evening shift today." Sonny asked his staff member on the phone.

"Well, I'm currently doing the afternoon shift so that means Connor will be taking the evening shift. I will be knocking off soon so Connor should be here any minute now." The waiter replied.

"Ok! I will be right there in a jiffy as well!" Sonny told his waiter before putting down the phone.

* * *

Liam rushed out of the hotel and ran through Horton Town Square. He completely forgotten the time. He was supposed to pick up Devon from daycare at four. It was now half-past four and the daycare centre would be closed in another half an hour.

"Oh crap crap! I shouldn't have take so much time correcting the sou chefs on their mistakes!" Liam scolded himself.

*CRASH*

Liam and the man he collided with both fell to the ground

"Are you blind? Watch where you're going!" Liam yelled at the brunette he collided with.

The brunette began picking up his cellphone which he dropped on the ground and apologized "I am so sorry, I am running late for work and I…"

When the brunette met eyes with Liam his eyes widened as he trailed off.

* * *

Sonny couldn't believe it. He couldn't believe what or who for better description he is seeing right before his very eyes.

"Hello? Can you hear me?" The blonde waved his hand right in front of his face.

"Look I'm sorry I called you blind. But my son is in daycare and the daycare centre's bout to close in half an hour so if you excuse me." The blonde stood up and walked off.

As the blonde was walking away the only thing Sonny could think about was his blonde hair, blue eyes and his facial features. He never thought he'd had another opportunity to see his face again.

"WILL HORTON!" Sonny yelled as he stood up and began chasing after him.

"Will! Will! Come back!" Sonny sprinted as he rudely dashed through a few couples that were holding hands.

Sonny finally caught up with the blonde and turned him around, laying both hands on the blonde's shoulders.

"What the…"

Before the blonde could curse Sonny interrupted "Will!" Tears began welling up in Sonny's eyes as he cupped the blonde's face. The more Sonny scanned through every single facial feature of the blonde, the more convinced he was that the blonde is his deceased husband. Sonny brought the blonde into a fierce, tight embrace.

"Whoa whoa whoa whoa… Time out time out" The blonde gently pushed Sonny away and used his hand to form the letter T.

"Who the hell are you? Do I know you or something?" The blonde asked.

"Yes! You are Will Horton, my husband!" Sonny said frantically.

"Hold up hold up! I'm Team Jamal on Empire but I never dated men before, let alone marry them. If you ask me, you got the wrong guy." The blonde turned around and walked into the park.

Looking at the blonde away, multiple thoughts began flooding Sonny's mind. "What is happening with Will? Why he is talking differently? Why does my Will act like he doesn't know me?"

"No, I must get to the bottom of this!" Sonny anxiously decided as he began running after the blonde.

He ran as fast as he could until he was in front of the blonde. He then stopped him and took out his wallet.

"You see this? This is a picture of you and me on our wedding day? You are afraid of heights! We used to always hang out at Common Grounds Café! You and I raised Arianna don't you remember any of that? Why are you acting like a different person?" Sonny was shaking the blonde frantically.

"I told you already! You got the wrong guy now let me go!" The blonde quickly shoved Sonny's hands aside before running off!

"Wait! Will!" Sonny called!

"Hey boss man! What are you doing here? I saw you running after Liam Robertson. " Ken came running behind him.

"Nothing much, I thought I saw someone I used to know" Sonny replied reluctantly.

"Wait a minute, are you referring to the Liam Robertson? You mean you used to know him?" Ken asked.

Sonny's eyes widened "Are you saying that blonde's name is Liam Robertson?"

"Yeah, he's the New York celebrity chef I was talking about the other day. He's now working in La Strada in Hotel Titan" Ken replied.

"His name is Liam, as in short for William?" Sonny asked.

"You can say that I guess" Ken shrugged his shoulders.

* * *

That night at Club TBD, Sonny sat at his office re-enacting the entire scenario in his head. He wondered why Will couldn't recognize him. He couldn't understand why Will is speaking in a slight New York accent. Was he really Will Horton, his husband or was he someone else who looked just like him.

Sonny had to find out, he quickly dial a number and waited for his Uncle Victor to pick it up.

"Hello Sonny?" Victor answered.

"Hello Uncle Vic, I have thought about it." Sonny replied

"Thought about what?" Victor asked.

"The job offer at Hotel Titan, I'm taking it."

* * *

A/N: So that's it! Tell me what yall think R&R! :D

Btw, for those who don't get the 'Empire' reference, Jamal is a gay character from the show 'Empire'. This means that Liam supports gays.


	6. Chapter 6: Flashback

CHAPTER SIX

"Hello! Anyone home? I'm back!" Gabi yelled upon opening the door to her apartment.

"MOM! So glad to see you!" Arianna ran towards her mother and gave her a big hug!

"Hey Gabi! I'm surprised you are back early! Kate told me you will be in Czech Republic for another week." Sonny said.

"Well! I was actually in Milan but I decided to take a break and decided to pass the Czech fashion show. Besides, I miss my family and my GBF too much!" Gabi smiled.

Gabi proceeds to open her luggage. "Guess what I brought for you Ari!" Gabi takes out a necklace jewellery box and placed it on her palm.

"You ready to see what it is?" Gabi asked

Arianna nodded excitedly.

"Ok here we go in 3, 2, 1!" Gabi opened the jewellery box.

"Wooooooooowwwww!" was the only word that came out of Arianna's mouth. Inside the box was a silver necklace with a two-carat sapphire pendant surrounded with diamonds.

"This looks sooooo amazing and beautiful! Thanks mom!" Arianna squealed with excitement.

"Well, I need to make sure my daughter has the best and nothing but the best! But you can't wear this school or anywhere else. Only on special occasions such as thanksgiving and Fourth of July. I don't want anyone to steal it! Now why don't you go back to your room and finish your homework?" Gabi nagged.

"Ok noted!" Arianna was too excited to notice her mother nagging; she took the jewellery box and ran back to her room.

"You shouldn't have given her such an expensive gift. I'm afraid she will lose it. On top of that, you shouldn't spoil her too much!" Sonny, feeling a little angry with Gabi, chided her.

"Oh relax Sonny! I'm not gonna let her keep it. I'm just letting her admire it for now. I'm gonna keep it for her until the occasion calls for it!" Gabi assures Sonny as they both sit on the couch.

"So I heard from Arianna that she worked her butt off to set you and Paul up on a date! How did it go?" Gabi excitedly asked Sonny while nudging his shoulder.

"It wasn't a date, it was just rock-climbing. Ari was just overthinking." Sonny sighed. As much as he loves his daughter, setting him up with Paul is slowly getting on nerves. Adrienne and Justin were already a pain in the neck, he never saw the day his daughter, Will's flesh and blood, would team up with his parents to match-make him with his first love.

Gabi moved closer to Sonny. "Awwwwww come on Sonny! Will has been gone for five years already. Don't you think it's time for you to move on?"

"But how can I move on? With Paul… of all people? How can I let Will down like this?" Sonny responds dejectedly.

"I'm sure Will wants you to be well taken care of and though Will was crazy jealous of Paul, I know that Will believes that the person who will always stay by your side, and that the only person who can take care of you is Paul don't you" Gabi assured.

"Will is alive!" Sonny interrupted.

"Do you have any idea what you are saying? I need you to move…"

"No I'm serious, I saw him with my own two eyes." Sonny interrupted once more.

"Ok… you are starting to sound a bit delusional" Gabi said, starting to get a little worried.

"No! I can prove it to you, just one moment!" Sonny quickly find a number on his phonebook before dialing it.

"Hello Ken! You said that Liam Robertson is a food blogger as well right do you know his blog?" Sonny asked.

* * *

"And that my friends, is how you make your children eat their peas instead of just blanching them into the hot boiling water, you need to make your peas interesting. And that's all the time we have for today I will see you next time with 'More Peas, More Peace' recipes to get your child's appetites worked up." Liam smiled and waited for a few seconds before proceeding to the tripod stand to turn off the camera heaving a sigh of relief.

"Ok! Just a little more editing and this video is ready to go on the blog and youtube!" Liam spoke to himself.

"Hey sorry! I got a call from my boss, I thought it was something urgent. Is everything ok with you?" Ken asked as he just came out of the bathroom.

"Yeah, it's all good! Hey thanks for being the cameraman for today! I really needed someone to help me do all that zooming in and out! Usually my wife or some of my staff would be willing to help me with all of that" Liam rambles on as he felt so grateful and indebted to Ken.

"No worries, I'm willing to do this anytime on the condition that you must feed me with whatever you just cooked!" Ken chuckled.

"Well, I'm sorry I created a snack dish around seven in the evening but as you know this is Peas and mint pesto on toasted baguette. Something healthy for the kids!" Liam spread some pesto on the sliced baguette before offering it to Ken.

"Mmmm… this is really good! My niece will love it!" Ken exclaimed upon taking a bite of the baguette.

"Yeah, you actually just helped filmed the first vid of my video series 'More Peas, More Peace' in a more delicious way to make peas for your children. As a father, I need my baby boy to have them veggies." Liam remarked.

"Man! Your wife is blessed with someone who knows how to handle her child at the eating table." Ken laughed.

Liam placed his glass firmly on a table before speaking "Um… my wife has passed on."

"Oh! I'm so sorry I shouldn't have…"

"It's ok, you didn't know." Liam waved his hand assuring Ken. "It's also the reason why I have left New York. I was unable to move on, so my parents-in-law told me to take up the job offer in Salem."

"I see… So how do you find Salem so far?" Ken quickly tried to change the subject.

"You wanna know the truth? You may not like it…" Liam replied.

"Come on… I'm a small town boy, compared to the big city I believe you will find it hard to adjust here." Ken answered.

"And you're right, time flies real slowly here. I can be taking a jog in the park and only fifteen minutes has passed and it feels like forever for work to end. This town is waaaay too quiet." Liam complained.

"Well, this is a small town. On behalf of the citizens in Salem, I'm sorry that we aren't interesting enough." Ken jokingly apologized.

"However…" Liam interrupted, "This place does give me a sense of where I belonged. Yes it may be quiet, but I somehow got quickly used to its serenity. It somehow gives me a sense of security, a sense of familiarity, a sense of home. It's like déja vu, I feel like I've been here before." Liam thought out loud.

"Well, maybe you are meant to be here. It's probably fate!" Ken smiled.

* * *

"Oh my goodness…" Gabi was shocked as she saw the pictures and youtube videos on the blog.

"I can't believe it either. He looks just like Will, from top to toe. The same eyes, the same smell and despite the New York accent, the tone of voice is exactly the same. How can two people look so similar?" Sonny was starting to get anxious with every word he spoke.

"But if he were really Will, why would he come back to Salem as someone else? Why wouldn't he come home to us?" Gabi realized that Sonny has every reason to be doubtful of whether the chef on the laptop was truly her daughter's father but she was still skeptical.

"Let's add the fact that this guy is a food critic and a chef that provides video tutorials on youtube on how to DEBONE AN ENTIRE TURKEY! Can you remember the time Will tried to prepare dinner and almost BURNED DOWN the kitchen?" Gabi accented.

"Ok ok I get it! But what if this guy is really Will? We can go back to way things were and be a family again!" Sonny retorted.

Gabi placed her hands on shoulders "Look! You know I love you, I just don't want you to get your hopes up! What if he's not and you end up disappointed and Paul's waiting for you." Gabi advised.

"I've decided to sell the club and take up the job as restaurant manager over at La Strada in Hotel Titan, that's where this Liam guy is working at." Sonny told Gabi firmly.

"Oh but come on Sonny! The club is…"

"I have to take this risk, I need to know." The curiosity is killing Sonny, he has to find out, he needs to know.

* * *

"Mr Robertson! Thank you so much for coming down here today really appreciate it!" Principal Simmons stood up and shook Liam's hand.

"No problem! It's my pleasure to contribute to this town and it's for a good cause!" Liam smiled.

"And to actually have a life outside my work and my son." Liam thought to himself as they headed out of Principal Simmons' office to the staff lounge.

"I'm really looking to working with you on this project. I read from some news articles about you providing food to various homeless shelters when you were in New York. I'm really glad you are willing to take part in our fund-raising for the baseball field." Principal Simmons said as they were walking into the staff lounge.

"Well, I was actually helping my father-in-law with his evangelism projects. But I'm glad I can contribute to something." Liam smiled.

Paul was running on a tight schedule today, aside from being a baseball coach at both Salem Elementary and Salem High, he spent the morning at a photoshoot for Basic Black. Yes, Paul still does part-time modeling for Basic Black. Primarily due to Theresa wanting to cut cost on choosing a new spokesperson so choosing the uncle of her son seems like the more feasible option.

Paul was running late, he completely forgotten about baseball practice and now he was dashing through the corridors of the school before popping into the staff lounge.

"I am so sorry I'm late Principal Simmons forgive me for my…" Before Paul could continue, he saw the man standing behind Principal Simmons.

Paul's jaw dropped, He couldn't believe who he saw. He began marveling at the man's sandy-blonde hair, the ocean-blue eyes and he muscular but lean built.

"Coach Narita? Coach Narita?" Principal Simmons called out.

"Oh I'm sorry Principal Simmons. You were saying?" Paul apologized as he snapped out of his daze.

Principal Simmons then turned his back signaling the blonde to come forward.

"Coach Narita, I would like to introduce you to Liam Robertson! He's one of New York's top Italian chefs and he's just moved to Salem! He will be taking part in the fund-raising event! Liam has taken part in many non-profit organization projects in the past so he does have plenty of experience is this field! Don't you Liam?"

"You flatter me Principal Simmons!" Liam blushed slightly.

"The way he blushes, the way he smiles" Paul thought to himself.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Coach Narita" The blonde offered his hand.

Paul stared his hand before continuing "Oh please! Just call me Paul! Coach Narita is for the kids!" Paul laughed hesitantly before shaking his hand.

The moment they shook hands, Liam couldn't help but feel another epiphany. "These hands feel awfully familiar and warm" He thought to himself.

"Gosh! The same touch I missed this." Paul muttered.

"What was that?" Liam asked.

"Oh nothing… it's just that, when Principal Simmons said chef I was expecting a fat man in his forties with white hair and a moustache. I'd never expect you to be so… young" Paul lied.

"Well, I'm sorry there's nothing I can do about that. But hey, I will be thirty in three years so I ain't that young" Liam laughed.

"The same age as well?" Paul thought to himself.

"Anyway, today I would like to bring you to baseball practice. I would love for you to see my kids and know what you are contributing to." Paul smiled.

"I want to know what you're hiding, Liam!" Paul demanded at the back of his head.

* * *

"So we are preparing for little league in spring, the kids are really excited about this. This is first time in five years Salem Elementary is taking part in this. I cannot afford to let the school or the kids down. Currently, we are using Salem High's baseball field. But using Salem High's baseball field also means that we have to share it with them. We are only allowed to have practice until four in the afternoon. The school really needs a baseball field." Paul explained as they were walking around the field.

"If you asked me I'm don't know much about baseball. I would love for you teach me some!" Liam smiled.

"How can he not know anything about baseball? He knew baseball inside out. Is he trying to fool me?" Paul wondered.

Just then Arianna ran towards Paul excitedly.

"Hey Coach! I need to work on pitching! Is it ok if I become the pitcher after the break?" Arianna asked.

"Sure you can! Pitching is my expertise so you better toughen up! Don't think just because I'm friends with your dad I will let you go easy!" Paul warned

"Aye-aye Sir!" Arianna saluted before running back to her crowd of friends.

As Liam observed the girl Paul was talking to, white flashes suddenly fogged his vision.

" _I can't promise that I will always protect you, but I can promise you that I'm always gonna try." Liam assured the baby girl in her arms before giving her a kiss._

Liam head began to feel giddy, his legs couldn't support him any longer and he finally gave way.

"Will!" Paul shouted

* * *

A/N: Ok that's it for now. I wasn't really feeling this chapter so I don't believe it's my best chapter. But please tell me what yall think R&R! :D


	7. Chapter 7: Hot in Herre

CHAPTER SEVEN

 _Liam found himself walking in the park carrying a baby basket. He spotted a bench and decided to take a seat, placing the basket right beside him on the bench._

 _Liam sighed as he looked into the infant's eye and told her "You know everything may be crazy right now but um… I will protect you, I promise. Cause you're the most important person in the world to me and nothing else matters, nothing."_

" _I agree!" Liam heard a voice coming from his left. Just as he was about to turn his face to the person who spoke to him…_

"I think he's coming round!" Liam heard a voice as he slowly lift his hand to rub eyes.

"Mr Robertson, Mr Robertson can you hear me?" Liam slowly opened his eyes to find the baseball coach looking at him intently.

Liam, who still had no idea what had happened asked "Um… what am I doing here? Weren't we at the baseball field?"

"You were at the baseball field and then you suddenly passed out. You are now in the nurse's office. Are you okay?" Paul asked worriedly placing his right hand on Liam's left shoulder

"Yeah, I'm so sorry. I just had these… flashes in my head" Liam used to palm to rub his forehead as he sat up.

Paul wanted to ask more about the flashes in Liam's head feeling worried but at the same time he didn't want to ask too many questions in case the blonde starts to feel weird around him.

"Well then, I believe you should go home and take a rest, we will discuss more details on the carnival tomorrow or maybe even next week." Paul patted Liam's shoulder as he gazed into Liam's eyes, he got lost in how ocean blue the blonde's eyes were and how similar they were to Will's. His face was now only a few inches from Liam's.

Liam gazed back into Paul's green eyes; he could not put his mind to it but there was something awfully familiar about those eyes. Liam's heart was beating faster by the minute as he noticed the black-haired leaning his face closer to his.

"Ok! This is getting really weird, does it feel hot in here?" Liam thought to himself.

Just as their noses met, Liam turned away before standing up. He quickly looked at the clock realizing it was four. "Oh look at the time! It's going to four, I need to pick up my son from daycare." Liam quickly responded.

"Oh um… sure! I guess I have to get back to the kids, make sure their parents pick them up." Paul tried not to express his huge disappointment as they headed out of the nurse's office.

* * *

"Hi sweetheart! How was practice today? Where's Paul?" Sonny came as his daughter came running towards his arms.

"Well Daddy a man came by to talk to Coach, they were walking and just as I was looking at him he fainted. Coach brought him to the nurse's office." Arianna shrugged her shoulders, "Let me go take my bag from the bleachers and then we'll head home!" Arianna said as she ran towards the bleachers.

Sonny wondered where Paul was at when he saw him joking and laughing with another but as they were walking closer to the field, Sonny was startled by the man he saw Paul with.

"How the hell is he here?" Sonny thought to himself feeling a tinge of anger and uneasiness, similar to how he felt when he found out when Derrick told him Will was interviewing Paul or for a lack of a better word, jealou… no envy.

Just as the two men were near the bleachers, Paul turned his head forward only to realize that Sonny was right in front of him. Paul's smile quickly turned into a look of shock as he saw the brunette standing opposite him.

"Oh crap! This is awkward!" Paul spoke in his mind

"Sonny, what brings you here?" Paul quickly asked realizing he just asked a redundant question.

"Um… I'm here to pick up Arianna?" Sonny couldn't help but reply with a sense of cynicism.

To quickly alleviate the tension he felt Paul quickly introduced "Sonny, I would like you to meet Liam Robertson, he's the chef that will be helping me out with the food for the carnival!"

Liam saw the brunette in front of him completely puzzled before interrogating "Hold up hold up! Aren't you the psycho from the other day saying that I was your husband or something?" Liam couldn't help but ramble on "Look I'm sorry maybe you were drunk that day or something but I don't know who you are."

"Papa Sonny, I'm all set. Ready to go?" Arianna came running towards the brunette.

"Yeah, let's go!" Sonny said before turning towards the car.

"Wait a minute, that's his daughter?" Liam thought to himself.

* * *

Later that night, Liam sat by the couch holding his baby, he couldn't stop thinking about the little blonde girl she saw that day. There was something so familiar about the blonde girl he met earlier. He couldn't put his finger on it but there was something so familiar about her.

" _Um… I'm here to pick up Arianna?" the brunette he met replied Paul_

"Arianna…" Liam whispered her name, just like the blonde girl's name, there was something about the name that hit a soft spot in him.

"There's a certain ring to it… Arianna… Arianna! Like Ariana Grande!" Liam chuckled to himself. "Hmm… there's a certain ring to this name." Liam turned to face his son, "If you were a girl, I'd named you Arianna, do you like that?"

Devon giggled with joy.

"I knew you like this name!" Liam smiled.

Liam suddenly remembered his dream about him bringing the baby to the park.

" _You know everything may be crazy right now but um… I will protect you, I promise. Cause you're the most important person in the world to me and nothing else matters, nothing."_

"What's with this baby these visions of her keep coming" Liam wondered, he had been getting the same visions and dreams of this baby more frequently. There are times where he will wake up in the middle of night upon seeing her face.

Liam took his cellphone, tapped the google before searching 'Salem University Hospital'. When the website was fully loaded, he typed 'psychiatrist' on the website before he found the name and contact details of Dr Marlena Evans.

* * *

"When are you going to tell me that you went crazy over some chef?" Paul asked agitatedly with slight anger over the phone.

"What do you mean by some chef? Didn't you see what he looks like? He looks just like Will! Aside from Gabi, I haven't told anyone else." Sonny defended.

"Well, I was shocked when I first met him as well but that doesn't mean I went all crazy telling him that he's my husband." Paul glared.

"I couldn't control myself. How can someone look so similar to Will? His eyes, the colour of his hair and even the same height. You can't tell me not to react that way." Sonny growled.

Sonny sighed "I gotta get up early tomorrow, it' s my first day of work tomorrow. I need to go… good night." Sonny quickly hung up the phone.

Paul could not help but feel the double-edged jealousy burning in him, he wasn't sure who he should be mad at. Sonny for going bananas over someone who looked like his husband or the chef he just met a few hours ago who well… did practically nothing.

A few moments after Sonny hanged up, his cellphone rang once more.

"Hello?" Sonny answered.

"Hey Sonny! It's Carl from La Strada, just a reminder to report to work at eleven tomorrow morning. Lunch will start at around noon."

"Sure Carl, I will see you around!" Sonny smiled before putting down his cellphone.

"If you are really Will, you're coming back home." Sonny decided.

* * *

"Ok people! We got that tour group of forty coming in today so imma need yall to get your asses working 24/7 no slacking off!" Liam walked into the kitchen informing all his sous chef.

Carlos, the restaurant manager entered the kitchen interrupting Liam, "Hey guys! Can y'all come out for a minute? I have something very important to tell you guys."

Liam gathered his chefs as they left the kitchen and sat on the chairs beside the other waiters and waitresses.

"Hey Liam!" Liam heard a voice called out.

Liam turned his face only to see his redhead friend walking towards him, "Ken! What are you doing here? Why you wearing a waiter outfit?"

"Well, my boss has sold the club so he and he and a few other waiters have decided to work as ther service crew here. My boss' the new restaurant manager here!" Ken smiled.

"Ok people, settle down! I have something extremely important to tell you guys!" Carl told everyone clustering themselves around the tables.

"As you all know I'm leaving by the end of the month and as you all know, these past two years have been absolutely crazy, there were full of ups and downs. But throughout everything, I still enjoyed my time working in La Strada and part of me is very reluctant… and very sad to leave La Strada." Carl trailed off as tears welled up in his eyes. "This is practically my baby…" Carl began crying a little before regaining his composure.

Liam stood up, walked towards Carl and offered him the napkin he took from the table he was sitting on.

"It's alright, it's alright" Liam comforted placing his arm around Carl's shoulder, "I will make sure that this restaurant will be kept in shape be it food, hygiene and or customer service! With Liam Robertson around, Imma make sure that your crew will be whipped into tip-top shape, believe that! So you just leave it to me and start your new life in Seattle!" Liam assured.

"Thanks Liam!" Carl smiled sniffling a little before picking up from where he left off, "As I will be leaving soon, there will obviously be someone taking over me, speaking of him where is he?" Carl wondered before looking out of the restaurant , "Oh there he is!" Carl said the moment he spotted someone.

Liam looked over to his left and saw a brunette with messy, spiky hair wearing sunglasses walking towards them in a dark blue suit covering a pink-checkered shirt.

Liam eyes widened, he was completely astonished, he then overheard a few of the waitresses swooning as the brunette was walking towards Carl.

"Really?" Liam thought to himself

"Hey buddy! It's been a while since I saw you! Glad you're finally taking part in the family business!" Carl laughed before patting Sonny's back. "Everyone, this is Jackson Kiriakis, he will be taking over me as your new restaurant manager!"

"Hi everyone it's nice to meet all of you! I look forward to working and meeting EACH of you. Oh you may call me Sonny!" The brunette tried to remove his shades as suave as possible before turning to his right to face the blonde chef.

"What the hell?" were the only three words that came out of Liam's mind.

"And this guy on my right here is the star of the restaurant!" Carl held Liam over his shoulders and turned his body to face Sonny before continuing. "Sonny, this is our head chef Liam Robertson, he's actually quite new to Salem, been here for about only a month! I'm sure you two will get along great!"

Sonny, seeing the mortified look on Liam's face couldn't help but feel a sense of triumph. "I look most forward to working with you." Sonny smirked as he offered his hand for a handshake.

Multiple thoughts were running through Liam's head, "How is this possible? Shouldn't he be in jail or something?" Liam didn't understand how the creepy psycho could be working with him, let alone stalking him.

"Awwww HELL TO THE NO!" Liam yelled.

"Why what's wrong?" Carl asked.

"This guy is a complete psycho! This guy bumped into me the other day, and went ballistic saying I was his husband!" Liam explained without realizing his voice is getting louder with each word.

"What are you talking about? Sonny is part of the renowned Kiriakis family. His family actually owns Titan Industries and his great-uncle Victor was the one who convinced him to take up this job. Why would someone like Sonny do such a thing?" Carl gently defended.

"Exactly, why would I do such a thing? Have I offended you in any way?" Sonny gave a phony concerned look.

Liam glared at him, "Well either he goes or I go!"

"I'm sorry, but I looked through your contract. It says that you have signed a two-year contract, a breach of contract by you would require a fifty-thousand dollar compensation." Sonny explained.

"Crap! Stalker sure got me trapped!" Liam muttered to himself.

"If I were you, I'd think twice about breaching the contract." Sonny warned as he gave his most seductive smirk causing Liam to cringe.

* * *

"Ok people! The orders are in. It seems that the pasta and the steak are the popular picks so everyone get your asses to work!" Liam turned to face one of his sous chef, "Kyla, preheat the oven to 350 and take care of dessert. Leah, chop them onions for Lito George, make the pasta. Lito, prepare the soup and I will take care of the steak. Oh and George, turn up the music."

George ran towards to the speaker and the ipod above the sink and click 'shuffle'.

"Ooh Nelly's 'Hot in Herre' that's my…"

"Get your ass to work! There's forty people outside." Liam chided.

Sonny stood quietly at the kitchen corner observing Liam at work.

 _I was like, good gracious, ass is bodacious_ _  
_ _Flirtatious, trying to show faces_ _  
_ _I'm waiting for the right time to shoot my steez you know_ _  
_ _Waiting for the right time to flash them key's, then_ _  
_ _I'm leaving, please believing, oh!_ _  
_ _Me and the rest of my heathens_ _  
_ _Check it, got it locked at the top of the Fo' Seasons_ _  
_ _Penthouse, roof top, birds I feeding_

 _No deceiving, nothing up my sleeve and_ _  
_ _No teasing I need you to_ _  
_ _Get up up on the dance floor_ _  
_ _Give that man what he asking for_ _  
_ _'Cause I feel like busting loose_ _  
_ _And I feel like touching you, uh uh_ _  
_ _And can't nobody stop the juice_ _  
_ _So baby tell me what's the use? I said_

Sonny observed Liam as he swiftly and roughly diced the tomatoes, finely chopped the garlics and rock chopped the marjorams and oreganos within five minutes. Sonny was completely stunned.

"Will would have never chopped finished these ingredients if it took him an hour!" Sonny thought to himself.

Sonny continued looking at Liam as he swirled the olive oil bottle pouring some into the pot as he waited for the pot to heat, then putting some the ingredients he had chopped into the pot as he began pan-tossing.

 _It's getting hot in here, so hot, so take off all your clothes  
I am, getting so hot, I wanna take my clothes off  
It's getting hot in here, so hot, so take off all your clothes  
I am, getting so hot, I wanna take my clothes off_

 _Uh, uh, uh, let it hang all out!_

Just as he began slicing the beef, something caught Liam's eye.

"George what are you doing with the pasta?" Liam walked forward as George quickly tried to form his pasta dough. Liam reached George's end of the table only to find flour all over the place and some egg yolks which have dropped on the floor.

"George, let me show you how to make pasta dough in less than three minutes. Firstly, this dough is a mess, secondly, there's too much egg to this." Liam took a food processor from the cupboard below and poured some flour into the food processor before cracking the eggs.

"Flour, eggs, olive oil and salt into the food processor." Liam took a pinch of salt sprinkling over the mixture and began pulsing the food processor. "This is how you make pasta dough in half the time and half the mess, just remember not to overdo it."

George nodded his head and smiled sheepishly, "Gosh! This is ingenius!" he thought.

 _Why you at the bar if you ain't popping the bottles? c'mon_ _  
_ _What good is all the fame if you ain't fucking the models_ _  
_ _I see you driving, sports cars, ain't hitting the throttle_ _  
_ _And I'll be down to do a hundred, top down and goggles_ _  
_ _Get off the freeway, exit 106 and "Park"ed it_ _  
_ _Ash tray, flip gate, time to spark it_ _  
_ _Gucci collar for dollar, got out and walked it_ _  
_ _I spit game cause baby I can't talk it_ _  
_ _Warm, sweating, it's hot up in this joint_ _  
_ _Vokal tank top, on at this point_ _  
_ _You with a winner so baby you can't loose_ _  
_ _I got secrets can't leave Cancun_ _  
_ _So take it off like your home alone_ _  
_ _You know dance in front your mirror while you're on the phone_ _  
_ _Checking your reflection and telling your best friend_ _  
_ _Like "Girl I think my butt getting big!"_ _  
_

"How's the Crème Brulette and the molten cake?" Liam asked

"All set Liam! Wanna try one?" Kyla asked

Liam gave the desserts a little taste before reaching a verdict. "They are surprisingly good Kyla! Now let me help you with the hardening of the surface. Liam took a gas torch as hit lit it up and gentle let the flames touch the surface of the crème brulees.

Sonny began pulling down his tie and unbuttoning the top button of his shirt. He didn't know why the temperature increased. He was feeling hotter by the second.

 _Mix a little bit of uh uh_ _  
_ _With a little bit of uh uh_

 _Let it just fall out_ _  
_ _Give a little bit of uh uh_ _  
_ _With a little bit of uh uh_ _  
_ _Let it hang all out_ _  
_ _With a little bit of uh uh_ _  
_ _And a sprinkle of that uh uh_ _  
_ _Let it just fall out_

"And now time to flambé the beef!" Liam announced as he poured some cognac into the pan, resulting in flames being ignited in the pan.

Looking from the side, Sonny remained completely stunned with his jaw dropped. The blonde look incredibly dashing and hot in that moment. He was completely mesmerized, or for a lack of a better description, turned on.

* * *

"Lunch hour is almost over, time for my break!" Liam heaved a sigh of relief after three hours of non-stop cooking.

"Hey Liam! A customer would like to talk to you! Would you come out for a second?" The waitress asked.

"Is it a customer complaint?" Liam asked exhaustedly.

"I'm not sure what it is, it's table 12." The waitress replied. _  
_

Liam walked towards table 12, only to find the obnoxious brunette waiting for him.

When Liam reached the table, he saw two plates of pasta and two glasses of red wine on the table with the curtains beside them closed, and candles lit.

Liam sighed "What do you want?"

"Lunch" Sonny replied with a grin.

* * *

A/N: Ok! I have been thinking a lot about this chapter and I thought about making it a little songfic-ish, and I really wanted the focus to be on Liam being a super badass, capable chef and for Sonny to be amazed by it. Though I cook a lot generally, I still had to do a lot of cooking research. Tell me what y'all think, R&R! I hope to do a bit more songfic chapters! :P


	8. Chapter 8: Ok I ain't your grandson!

CHAPTER EIGHT

"It seems a plate of pasta is right before you, so why ain't you having it?" Liam asked rhetorically.

Sonny stood up, walked towards the blonde, placed his hands on the blonde's shoulders and walked him in front of the chair they were standing behind and pushed the blonde's shoulders, forcing him to sit down.

"It's been a while since I had lunch with someone. Since it's my first day of work, I would like to know my head chef a little better. We will be working together after all, so I thought of having a meal with you." Sonny answered coolly.

"So your idea, of having lunch with your chef, is ordering two plates of pasta which he cooked himself? You could have at least ordered McDonald's or KFC." Liam gave a blank stare.

"I have to know how capable my chef is, besides, there's a saying 'a way to a man's heart is through is stomach', I need to taste your abilities and skills and see whether you got my heart. If you got it, you stay, if you don't your fired." The brunette took a sip of his wine.

Liam chuckled "Hmmm… that sounds pretty great, I get to go back to New York with a six-month severance pay, it's much better than most year-end bonuses my peers receive. I can buy all the toys my son wants, so do I need to give you my bank account number or something?" Liam asked.

The brunette placed took some spaghetti using his fork, twirl it and then placed it into his mouth.

Upon finished chewing Sonny took a napkin and wiped his mouth. "Well, I will say this is the best plate of pasta I've ever had. It seems I can't fire you after all." Sonny grinned.

"Wow… I must thank the heavens I did not get fired yaaaayyyy…" Liam said sarcastically as he raised both his hands as if he were singing hallelujah in church.

"Not only has this plate of pasta saved your job, but it has went through my stomach and stolen my heart" Sonny tried to smitten the blonde.

"Did you plan this?" Liam wondered getting more annoyed by the second.

"Plan what?" Sonny asked him back

"This, me getting a job in Hotel Titan so that I can work somewhere near you." Liam barked as he had state the obvious.

"Well, the truth is I have been contemplating about taking up this position a few months when my Uncle Vic gave me the job offer but when I saw you and heard about your workplace, I decided to accept the job offer and sell my club." Sonny confessed as he took another sip of his red wine.

"I'm gonna repeat what I said the first time we met, I am not your husband. I'm just a simple chef from Queens. Secondly, I don't date men, regardless of how incredibly good-looking or gentlemanly or reliable he may be. Thirdly, even if you date me, I come with baggage. Right before your very eyes is a 27-year-old widowed father of an eleven-month old infant." Liam disclosed hoping the brunette would back off upon hearing this cold fact.

Sonny giggled "You know when before I married my husband, he was a single father to our daughter. When we got married, she became my stepdaughter; I officially adopted her a few years later."

Sonny went on "You keep on saying you aren't Will, but all the evidence says otherwise."

"Like what?" Liam rolled his eyes.

"For starters, your name. My husband's full name is William Horton, you are called Liam. Just like how Will is short for William, Liam is also short for William. Secondly, it's not just your face which looks exactly like Will's. Your stature, height and the tone of your voice are exactly like his…" Sonny pointed out.

"You mean he has a New York accent like mine?" Liam wondered.

"Nope, but even then the two of you still sound alike. Lastly, you just said you are 27, that's how old Will is" Sonny added.

"Besides, you and I have a lot in common, we are both single dads, widowers and are both working in the F&B industry. Fate has brought us together, and I'm grabbing hold of this opportunity." Sonny swiftly grabbed Liam left hand with his right hand. Liam tried to pull away when Sonny went further down to grab his wrist. The two began struggling and a few seconds later, they knocked over the salt and pepper shakers.

"Hey is everything alright?" A waiter ran by upon hearing the salt and pepper shakers being shattered on the floor.

"Yeah Connor, do you mind getting a broom and dustpan?" Sonny asked.

Liam giving Sonny stern look said "Excuse me, Imma have my lunch in the kitchen." He took his plate of linguine and a fork before heading for the kitchen.

"Delusional and psychotic" Liam muttered as he walked back to the kitchen.

Liam returned to the kitchen only to see Leah on the table, legs wrapped around Lito as the man was marking himself all over Leah's neck.

Liam barked "What the hell are yall doing in my kitchen?"

The two slowly turned their heads, completely mortified only to see their head chef .

"Don't you dare look at me like that! Yall the ones getting nasty here!" Liam scolded.

Turning around covering his eyes Liam continued "Look, I don't care about your sex life but this ain't 'Grey's Anatomy'. You can't just get it on in my kitchen! Go do it at the park for all I care but our customers consume sustenance made in here! So get your clothes on and where's the other two?"

"They are outside smoking." Leah replied as she quickly buttoned up her uniform.

"As punishment, you two will clean the kitchen up by dinner. Oh, and if you guys break up, one of you horndogs needs to be fired. I ain't playing marriage counselor to your shenanigans." Liam took his plate of linguine before walking out.

* * *

"Ok! That's a wrap Amazing work Gabi & Paul! You absolutely made love to the camera! I can imagine the Basic Black's Fall collection selling like hotcakes!" the photoshoot director praised.

"Gosh my back is aching! You know you could lose a few pounds." Paul complained stretching his sore arms from carrying Gabi during the photoshoot.

"Hey! You're a baseball coach and a male model! You are the one that needs more beefing up!" Gabi laughed, shoving his shoulders.

Gabi gulped before continuing, "So, have you talked to Sonny already?"

"About?" Paul squint his eyes a little

"You know?" Gabi raised her eyebrows a little

"As in Will's doppelganger?" Paul clarified

"So you do know he has returned!" Gabi exclaimed. "Are you okay? I really don't want you be upset about this!" Gabi worried as she reached out for Paul's hand.

Paul placed his hands on Gabi "Look Gabi, I really appreciate you worrying for me, but you know I love Sonny, this must have been a big blow to him."

"Plus, this Liam guy is helping me out with the fund-raising carnival. Sonny was picking Ari up from baseball when he saw him." Paul admitted. "And, that's how Sonny found out that I knew about him too" Paul trailed off.

Gabi placed her palm on her forehead "Oh gosh! I can't believe this is happening, so what happened after?"

"Well, he went on to tell Sonny saying 'I'm not your husband!' and 'You got the wrong guy'." Paul explained.

"Well, I hate to be the breaker of bad news, but did you know that Sonny's new job is at the La Strada? This Liam guy is the head chef of the restaurant." Gabi confessed.

"What?" Paul asked in shock, just then Paul remembered what Sonny told him a few weeks back.

" _My Uncle Vic has offered me a job at Hotel Titan. He wants me to be the restaurant manager of La Strada. I'm actually considering taking up the offer" Sonny told Paul._

"No wonder he decided to take up the job, he told me a few weeks ago that he didn't want to sell the club." Paul realized.

"Oh crap! I'm gonna be late for baseball practice! I needa go" Paul ran into his changing room after glancing at his watch.

* * *

"Sorry Coach Hudson! I was at a photoshoot, now I'm here. How's the team doing?" Paul asked hestitantly.

"You're half an hour late, the team is now split into two now, red and green. We just finished warm-ups. Paul this is the third time you're late for practice." Coach Hudson informed.

"You're sorry? Look regionals is coming up in two months! If my assistant coach isn't even present, what will the team think. You are my right-hand man, I need my right-hand man! There's a reason why I convinced Principal Brickley to get a number two! Because you are experienced! Because we all know one word from you and a student will be able to obtain a baseball scholarship in college!" Coach Hudson chided Paul firmly but only loud enough so as not to distract the high school students from practice.

"Look Coach! When the doctor told me I couldn't pitch, I thought my baseball career was over. I really thought I was done, until you gave me hope. When I saw Salem High playing and you coaching, you made me realize that I can be a mentor to the next generation. I want to be here, and inspire more than anything else ever." Paul said with a perplexed look.

"Look, I have to be very honest, you know the team has not been doing well for the past two years." Coach Hudson stated as he took a deep breath. "Look, aside from me being their baseball coach, I'm also a gym teacher in Salem High. But you, you are outside help which I strongly recommend to Principal Brickley." Coach Hudson took another deep breath before continuing, "Principal Brickley has given an ultimatum. If the team fails to qualify for the semi-finals, you'll be fired."

"Please Coach Hudson, isn't there any other way to go about this? Among everything, I really want to keep this job! Could you talk to Principal Brickley again?" Paul pleaded.

"You think I didn't talk to him? Principal Brickley also needs to look at the school budget. He thinks you are too expensive; after all you are the Paul Narita. I already pleaded with him not to fire you, he gave the team one last chance to prove themselves." Coach Hudson warned.

Paul sighed before closing his eyes.

Coach Hudson placed his hand over Paul's shoulders, "I'm so sorry, I did the best I could. Enough talking, let's get back to work." Coach Hudson walked a little before running towards the centre of the field to talk to the team.

"I can't believe this is happening" Paul sighed with exasperation.

* * *

"Hi, are you here for an appointment" The hospital administrator asked.

"Yes, I have an appointment with Dr Marlena Evans the psychiatrist at around three today?"

"Are you Liam Robertson?" The administrator asked once more.

"Yes, I am" Liam answered.

"Your appointment is on level four, at the psychiatrist clinic." The hospital administrator passed Liam his ticket before he headed to the lift.

"Dr Evans, your next patient is Liam Robertson" The nurse opened the door to inform Marlena.

"Send him in" Marlena said as she was finishing up some paper work from her last patient while the nurse left leaving the door to close by itself.

*Knock Knock*

"Come in!" Marlena raised her voice a little so she can be heard.

"Hey Dr Evans!" the man entered and Marlena heard the man walk towards the chair across her.

"One moment please." Marlena said as she placed the documents into her lat patient's confidentiality folder.

"Hi! I'm Doctor Evans please to meet…" As Marlena stood up and offer her hand for a handshake, her eyes widened when she finally met eyes with the man.

"Why hello Doctor Evans it's a pleasure to meet you!" the blonde replied as he tried to shake her hand. The blonde felt that her hands were rather stiff when she didn't shake back.

Marlena's jaw dropped, she never thought she would see his blue eyes, blonde hair and lanky stature ever.

"Will…" Marlena muttered as her legs gave way falling back onto her chair covering her mouth.

"Um… excuse me, Will?" The blonde asked once more.

"Are you Will?" Marlena asked.

"Um… No? I'm your patient Liam Robertson?" The blonde answered.

"Oh Liam!" Marlena laughed a little as she tried to pull a strong front. "I'm sorry you just look a lot like my grandson, Will." Marlena tried to regain her composure.

"Well, I do hope I'm better-looking." Will joked trying to alleviate the tension in the room.

"Um… listen, I'm having a little headache" Marlena gave an excuse as she began typing an email to the hospital administration. "Can we re-arrange our appointment? I will tell the hospital administration that you need not pay for anything today."

"Um… sure, get well soon Dr Evans!" Liam stood up and took his leave.

Marlena quickly took out her cellphone and started texting.

 _ **To: Sami**_

 _ **Sami! 911! I need you back in Salem ASAP! It's very important**_

* * *

"Strange! Did that doctor called me… Will?" Liam wondered walking through Horton Town Square pushing his son in a baby stroller. Just then, he saw the baseball coach.

"Hey Paul!" Liam ran towards the black-haired.

"Hey Liam! What are you doing here!" Paul asked.

"Well, I just took my son from daycare!" Liam looked at Paul and realized his face was a little pale. "You don't look too good, is something wrong?"

"Well, nothing's wrong, I'm just a little stressed out lately" Paul sighed.

Realizing that Paul wasn't feeling that great about himself from his resigned tone, Liam tried to perk him up. "Well, if you up to it, I'm actually gonna do a review on the menu on Chez Rouge tonight. So why don't you and I have dinner there? You can recommend me their specialties? I just need to wait for the babysitter here and we will be set? What do you say?" Liam flashed an encouraging smile.

Paul looked at Liam lopsided smile and could not stop thinking "How can anyone say no to that?" before breaking into a wide smile himself.

"That sounds pretty awesome!" Paul replied.

"Great! Let's go!" Liam said as the two headed off.

* * *

A/N: Ok that's it! Please tell me what do you think! :D


	9. Chapter 9: Food blogging

CHAPTER NINE

Paul was at the blonde chef's place walking around the apartment. He saw many photos of the blonde with the brown-skinned infant. He also saw the blonde's wedding photo with an African-american woman all donned up in white at the church altar which came to him as a surprise as he thought the infant the blonde was holding was adopted.

"You have a mixed son. You can't be Will, can you?" Paul mumbled. Knowing Will's sexual orientation, there's a high possibility that the two can't be the same person.

"What was that?" Paul heard the voice from behind as he snapped out

"Oh!" Paul jumped a little completely startled. "I'm sorry you startled me" Paul giggled with embarrassment. The black-haired turned around only to find the blonde completely shirtless scantily clad in only a pair of tighty-whities. Paul could not figure out whether it was a good or a bad thing that the only thing he could focus on was the bulge protruding from the white fabric.

"Hello? Paul you listening? Paul!" Liam called out snapping his fingers

"Sorry, what were you saying?" Paul apologized, trying to remind himself to stop ogling at the blonde before and just focus on his eyes.

"I was saying that since I'm in Salem, I have decided to do a blog review the best of Salem best food joints. Not that there's many in this small town, but I will make do!" Liam rambled on as he put on his jeans.

As Liam went on about his blogging experience in New York, Paul was now staring at the vertical line intersecting the blonde's belly-button and admired the curves and dips outlining Liam's pectorals.

"Paul, get it together! You are not supposed to get a boner now!" Paul chided himself at the back of his head.

*DING DONG*

"Oh! That must be the babysitter!" The blonde walked behind Paul and opened the door.

"Hi! You must be the babysitter, come on in!" Liam welcomed the brunette.

"Hi! I'm Ciara Brady, It's good to meet you Mr Robertson." Ciara shook hands with Liam before asking, "So where's the kid?" Ciara turned to his right to find Paul sitting on the couch before greeting, "Oh hey Paul! What are you doing here?"

"Oh hey Ciara! Liam here is new to town, so I'm showing him the way around." Paul replied.

"You two know each other?" Liam asked.

"Well, Salem is a small town. Almost everyone knows everyone; it's hard not to bump into each other, especially Horton Town Square!" Paul joked.

Liam walked Ciara to the baby cot and Liam proudly introduced his baby boy to her.

"Right here is my son, Devon James Robertson. You do know how to change diapers right?" Liam asked the brunette.

The brunette nodded.

"Ok, great! So I'm going to leave you my number on the dining table so do call me if anything bad happens. I'm going to be right back in an instant." Liam briefed Ciara, "Oh! In case you're hungry," Liam headed to the kitchen to take out a casserole and placed it at the counter. "I have baked some lasagna for your dinner. Take a portion and heat it up in the microwave."

"Wow Mr Robertson! You really didn't have to make dinner for me I would have just ordered pizza." Ciara thanked.

"Well, I'm a chef. Cooking is my niche, not eating my food offensive!" Liam winked. "Ok Devon, Daddy is going off now, I love you." The blonde quickly kissed the infant's forehead before asking Paul, "Paul you wanna say goodbye as well?"

"Sure Paul replied!" Paul took a step behind Liam and looked into the infant's eyes, "Bye Devon! It's nice to meet you!" The more Paul looked at the infant the more Paul squint his eyes.

"Is it just me or does he resemble Arianna?" Paul wondered to himself.

* * *

Liam and Paul were happily chit-chatting away as they were walking along Horton Town Square. There was something about the blonde that made Paul feel so at ease. They walked and talked without a care in the world without noticing their surroundings until someone called Paul.

"Paul!" The black-haired heard a voice.

Paul took his eyes off the blonde and saw a latina lady with a brunette. Paul began hesitating as he was afraid of what was about to happened next.

"Hey Gabi! Hey JJ! Going on a date?" Paul asked tentatively.

"As a matter of fact we are. Care to introduce us to your new friend?" Gabi indicated with a side-eye.

"I would like you guys to meet Liam Robertson. He's a chef working at La Strada in Hotel Titan." Paul tried to acquaint. "Liam, this is Gabriella Hernandez and Jack Deveraux Jr aka. JJ Deveraux."

"Well, it's good to meet you Liam…" JJ's eyes widened when he took a second look at the blonde, he was completely dumbfounded. "Will?" JJ choked out his question, when Gabi nudged his waist.

Liam heard what the brunette asked but he did not want to deal with that at the moment. Liam asked "What was that?" giving the brunette a chance to say something else.

"Oh! I was saying welcome to Salem!" JJ quickly shook his hand trying not to think about the burning questions inside his head.

"Well! As I'm quite new here, I do not know many people. I'm glad to meet new people coz it's just me and my son." Liam laughed.

"Your son?" Gabi asked.

"Yeah, I'm a single dad to an eleven-month old infant. He's now at home with the babysitter." Liam stated.

"Oh I see!" Gabi decided not to delay the two any longer, "Ok, we got our dinner planned so I will see you guys around." Gabi pulled a very frozen JJ by his arm along with her.

Paul was getting more and more worried. He was terrified as to what Gabi would tell Sonny.

* * *

"Ok, ok! What's wrong with you? Would you just hold up for a second?" JJ quickly stop his girlfriend from pulling him.

"What were you thinking? How could you say that name right in front of their faces?" Gabi scolded.

"What do you mean? Didn't you see who that guy is?" JJ raised his voice slightly. Looking at Gabi's reaction, he realized something. "You knew about this already, didn't you?" JJ questioned.

"Sonny was actually the first one who saw him. This guy may look like Will but he appears very different from Will. I do not know much about him but if he were really Will, he would have come home, or bothered to find us. He wouldn't leave Ari or Sonny" Gabi explained.

"Well, maybe he has his difficulties; maybe he has lost his memory? We never know! I think we should get to the bottom of this." JJ concluded.

"Wait, we can't just dive head in, maybe we should just take it slow. Let's get to know this Liam a little better first before we find anything else or tell anyone else." Gabi offered.

"That sounds good as well, we wouldn't want him to get all weird around us or avoid us if we start probing too soon." JJ agreed.

* * *

"So this is a pretty nice place, I would say the ambience is on par with La Strada." Liam smiled as he looked at the menu. The blonde got a shock when he saw the prices of the various items.

"Whoa… this place looks expensive!" Liam exclaimed.

"Well, this is after all a gourmet restaurant. You could take it as my treat as a welcome dinner to Salem." Paul suggested.

"Oh hell no, I don't need you to pay for my meal. Just being company for one night would do. Besides, I will let you in on a little secret, one moment please." Liam raised his hand to call a waiter. "Yeah, I'm looking for your manager, Bruno? I would like to speak to him."

A few moments later, a tan-skinned man with black hair and a thick moustache came by the table and Liam stood up.

"Hello Liam! It is such an honour to meet you. I actually read through your blog reviews when I was on vacation in New York. I wanna thank you for making my eating experience in New York divine! I love those tacos you recommended in Brooklyn!" The man quickly shook Liam's hand.

"Why thank you Bruno! I am glad that you enjoyed New York and all the eating spots that it has to offer. Frankly speaking, I can never get tired of eating in New York" Liam laughed.

"It is an honour that you are doing a review on my restaurant, your blog is one of the most popular food blogs in the country! I sure hope you enjoy your dinner here! As you are our first few reviewers, your dinner will be on the house. So feel free to order whatever you like!" Bruno smiled before walking away.

Paul's mouth went wide open; he didn't know the impact/influence the blonde had in the culinary world. And he thought he was a celebrity for getting mini freebies from the photoshoots and runways he'd been to when the blonde right before him can order anything he wants in the most expensive restaurant in Salem without paying a cent.

Liam flashed Paul sly grin, "See, you need not worry about a thing. Dinner's on me, except that it isn't." the blonde giggled.

Seeing the blonde grinning from ear to ear, Paul could not help but laughed a little. There was something about the blonde's smile which made his heart melt, and send butterflies escaping from his stomach.

The two spend the rest of the evening laughing and joking and talking about themselves. Of course the blonde still needed to work so in between courses, he took out his iPad and began typing notes on each dish.

* * *

As the blonde was typing intently on the iPad, Paul couldn't help but stare at the blonde. He was reminded about the times Will was sitting in his hotel room staring at his iPad doing the exact same thing. From the way he scratches his cheeks, the way he squint his eyes to how he places his fist below his chin. The smallest actions were able to trigger his memories of Will Horton.

After dinner, the two men took a walk around Horton Town Square before buying some frozen yoghurt where they chatted for a little while longer. Despite the scrumptious dinner and great conversation that the two had, Liam had a gut feeling that Paul was still feeling down.

"So spill it! What has gotten you feeling so down?" Liam asked.

Paul felt a little surprised by Liam's question "How do you know I was feeling down?"

"Well, I call it my gut." Liam remarked as he took another scoop of his froyo.

"It's school" Paul sighed, "The team has not been doing well lately." Paul exhaled through his nose as he took another scoop of his frozen yoghurt from his cup.

"You mean Salem Elementary? Is the team not good enough? Not talented enough? Not skilled enough?" Liam threw a few questions.

"It's not Salem Elementary. Aside from being the baseball coach of Salem Elementary, I'm also the baseball coach of Salem High. Plenty of my star players in Salem High hope to get a scholarship to college through baseball." Paul explained. "The issue is that Salem High hasn't been doing well in regionals or state championships, how am I supposed to give my team good recommendation when they don't even have a winning record. I honestly don't feel competent enough to be their coach." Paul bemoaned.

Liam shifted his chair closer beside Paul and placed his hand over Paul's shoulder.

"Hey! I may not know much about baseball but I know that as a mentor and a coach, there's only so much we can do. Yes, it is our job to train them to the best. However, you must not give up!" Liam warned.

Liam then placed his palms on Paul's cheeks and turned his head so the two would have eye to eye contact.

"Listen to me Paul Narita! If it doesn't work, it doesn't work. But you have to give it your all. If you give leap and try, and it doesn't work out, it's not on you. It's just not meant to be. Always remember, you fail not when you lose. You fail only when you quit." The blonde accented on the last word. "Got it?"

Paul's nose was now less than inch away from Will's. As he nodded dumbly, he was once again bewildered by the blonde's blue eyes resisting the temptation to cup his face.

Later that night, Paul recalled the conversation he and the blonde had at the frozen yoghurt shop. He could not stop thinking about how the blonde encouraged him and advised him. It reminded him greatly of five years ago when a certain blonde journalist helped him through his quarter-life crisis at the end of his pitching career. Five years later, another blonde is helping him through his coaching career.

"Déjà vu I must say." Paul thought to himself.

* * *

-A Few Days Later-

It was Sonny's turn to decide what to cook for the week. He was all out of ideas as to what to cook, he made lasagna the night before, pot roast earlier in the week and roasted chicken during the weekends. As the brunette was flipping through his cookbook he realized to himself…

"The blog!" Sonny thought to himself, and finding an excuse to check the blog out every chance he had. Sonny quickly took out his iPad and searched through 'bookmarks'. As the website loads, his smile quickly disappeared when he saw the selfie which appeared right on top of the blog post. The selfie showed the blonde with the baseball coach laughing happily with the subtext right below stating, 'Together with legendary baseball pitcher Paul Narita!' Sonny felt a certain fire burning in him, he felt indignant.

"Wait a minute! He can't even spare five minutes with me for lunch but they spent the entire evening together?" Sonny grumbled angrily.

* * *

"Next week's duty roster is out!" Ken announced to the kitchen as he placed the piece of paper into the the folder stuck to the wall by double-sided tape while the rest of the crew walked towards the duty roster.

"Yes! I get the evening off next week!" Leah exclaimed.

"Excuse me people! You guys are blocking my view like the red sea and now I need you guys to part." He took Lito and Leah's shoulders and gently pushed the two pairs of sous chef apart. He looked through his schedule, he was surprised when he had more than one dinner shift. Liam quickly untied his half-apron, tossed it to Leah before walking towards the manager's office.

* * *

"Mom, it's ok you really don't need to come all the way here. I will be quite busy today." Sonny tried to stall. He really didn't want his mom to visit him at the restaurant for obvious reasons. If he reacted poorly to Will's doppelganger, he could not imagine how his mom, someone more emotionally erratic would behave the moment she look at him. Just then he saw his head chef barging into his office.

"I'mma call you back, I have some business to attend to." Sonny said before hanging up the phone.

"What the hell? You put me on dinner three times next week?" The blonde scowled.

"What's the matter Liam? What are your difficulties?" Sonny asked as nonchalantly as possible.

"The issue is that I had a conversation with Carl about this. We agreed to only one dinner shift a week. How could you change my schedule like this?" Liam raged.

"I have been receiving customer complaints as of late." Sonny lied. "One of the customers claimed that the steak was too rubbery while another has claimed your pasta's too soggy. The common factor between these two complaints is that they occurred during dinner." Sonny explained.

"Even then, you should tell me at least a week in advance, you can't just slot me in without any notice! I have a son to take care of!" Liam retaliated.

"So your main worry is your son." Sonny gave a sincere smile. "I'm a father too, I can understand your concerns." Sonny tried to empathize. "But at the same time, I'm your manager. I need to make sure that my head chef will be able to ensure quality control and to keep his crew in check."

Realizing that the brunette made sense, the blonde looked away in frustration, placing his hands on his hips.

Sonny marveled at Liam's tall stature, admiring how the chef's white uniform fitted him perfectly showcasing his pectorals.

"He looks incredibly sexy when he's angry with his hands on his hips" Sonny admired as he thought about it.

*KNOCK KNOCK*

"Enter" Sonny replied.

"Sonny! I have been looking for you everywhere. I heard from Ken that your office is right here!" The blonde lady said. As she was walking towards where the brunette was sitting, she saw the blonde man when he turned his head. The lady dropped her handbag when she gave the blonde a second look.

"Will is that you?" The lady asked.

"Mom!" Sonny whined in an annoyed tone.

* * *

A/N: Ok, so I added a 'Scandal' quote here. I'm sorry, but I imagine Will to be someone like Olivia Pope when he returns to Salem lol. So R&R! Please tell me what do you think! And feel free to throw in/suggest any ideas of some WilSon/PaulSon/Horita moments you would like to happen! :D


	10. Chapter 10: Meet the family

CHAPTER TEN

"Hey Sami, so glad to see you back here in Salem!" Lucas gave Sami a hug.

"I'm so glad to see you too! I missed you too!" Sami hugged back.

"So what are you doing back here in Salem? And why did you ask me here to Hotel Titan for lunch today?" Lucas asked.

"To be honest, my mom asked the both of us here. She's actually the reason why I'm back in Salem. As to why she asked us here for lunch, that's something we are gonna find out today." Sami replied.

"Sami, Lucas! Thanks for coming all the way here for lunch!" Marlena approached the table as Sami and Lucas stood up to exchange greetings with Marlena.

"So Mom, why did you ask us out for lunch today? You said it was important." Sami asked.

"Yes, I did ask you two here to tell you something extremely important. But first Sami, I need you to promise me that you will calm down and not go crazy because this news is a little… explosive" Marlena explained.

"Ok ok Mom! Cut to the chase, this isn't a therapy session. We don't have all day!" Sami urged, feeling a bit irritated with how wishy-washy her mother was.

* * *

Adrienne Kiriakis gasped as if she saw a ghost, she was completely flabbergasted. She never thought she'd will see Will Horton again.

"Will, how is it that you're alive? How is this possible?" You're dead!" Adrienne exclaimed.

"Mom, this is really not a good time. Could you come back later?" Sonny walked towards his mother, took her by the shoulder and directed her shoulders towards the door.

"No!" Adrienne took her son's hands and threw them down. "You are gonna explain to me everything! Why is he here? When did you find out about this? How did you find out about this? Wait a minute… is this why you took up the job?" Adrienne incessantly threw as many questions as possible.

"Mom, I will explain everything later, just go." Sonny tried to push her mother to the door.

"Sonny, you have been doing fine all this time. And what about you and Paul, I heard from Ari and Gabi that you guys have been making progress. I don't want you to go back to all that mess you been through!" Adrienne explained herself before turning to the chef. "And you! Why are you back only now? It's been five years since you left. And just when my son is beginning to move on with someone else, you just have to pull him back into your orbit, don't you? Why did you come back to Salem Will?"

Liam rolled his eyes, "Ok, ok Miss bougie. You need a dog nuzzle because someone needs to control that mouth of yours." The blonde used his hand to form a shape of a mouth. "You like this right now," Liam open and closed his hand repeatedly, "And I need you like this." Liam closed his hand.

"Look Miss bougie, I don't know you but you seem to get your facts twisted. I was SCOUTED by Hotel Titan all the way from New York, the empire state of mind. Secondly, I was the head chef of La Strada weeks, I repeat WEEKS before stalker right here took over" Liam pointed at Sonny. "Third of all, the name is Liam Robertson not some Will guy. And lastly, who your son dates, is none of my concern, as long as it ain't me. So you need to get it together and leave me out of your mother-son problems, because ain't nobody got time for that. Thank you, and good day." Liam impertinently explained. The chef then walked out of the room, leaving Adrienne at a complete loss for words.

Seeing the way the chef completely dismantled his mom verbally, Sonny was shocked. "Will, was never this mouthy and brazen. Even when he quarrels with my mom." he thought to himself. Seeing how the chef sassed his way through a completely ballistic Adrienne amazed him. Sonny was once again smitten by the chef's confidence, attitude and his lack of airs. Most of all, Sonny enjoyed how confident the chef walked out of his office. "Will never walk this confidently either" Sonny thought.

* * *

Sami and Lucas were staring at the Marlena's iPad. They were stunned as they saw the man thaw was on the iPad.

"Oh my God! Where is he? I have to meet this guy, I must meet him! Where is he?" Sami asked anxiously, grabbing hold of Marlena's wrist shaking it vigorously.

"Sami, I need you to calm down!" Lucas stood up and quickly took Sami's hands off Marlena before turning to Marlena. "Marlena, come on tell us! This is very important, we are talking about our son here!" Lucas raised his voice at Marlena feeling just as anxious as Sami.

"This chef, is right here, in this very restaurant, right now." Marlena revealed.

"Well where is he? Will? Will?" Sami stood up and yelled for his name. Just then, Sami turned her head and spotted a blonde in a chef uniform. The moment she saw his eyes, she walked towards the chef.

"Will, will! I'm so glad you're home!" Sami grabbed the blonde man by the waist and engulf him into a tight embrace.

Lucas ran after Sami, only to see that the blonde looked completely freaked out.

Sami placed her hands on the blonde's cheeks, as she studied every single feature on his face

"How is this possible? How are you alive?" Sami continued asking as Lucas tried to pull her away.

"Will, I'm so glad you are back after all this time. Welcome home son!" Lucas went forward with arms out wide wanting to hug him.

The blonde quickly pull back. "Ok ok stop stop! Does everyone know this Will guy? Is it me or does Salem have a thing for calling people Will? First it was stalker, then his mother and now you guys." The blonde rambled on. "For the last time, it's Liam, not Will!"

"Stop right there Jackson! I am not finished with you!" Sami and Lucas heard a voice coming from their left.

Sami and Lucas then saw Adrienne and Sonny. The brunette appeared to be chasing after the blonde.

"Liam wait! Could you just let me expla…" Upon seeing who the chef was standing with, Sonny trailed off.

"Sonny what's going on here?" Lucas asked.

Sonny then approached Liam "Look Liam, I'm sorry but this is not a really good time to be here right now. Take the day off."

Liam gave Sonny the side-eye "Ok, whatever you say!" Liam shrugged his shoulders. Before Liam left, he placed his hand on Sonny's shoulder and spoke into his ear. "On a personal note, I can see why you think you think I'm this Will guy." The blonde then stole a quick glance on his left and right, "That's because the apple never grows far from the tree." Liam patted the brunette's shoulders before walking off.

The moment the blonde walked into the kitchen, Sonny felt a few pairs of eyes glaring at him. He turned away from the kitchen only to realize that he was right.

"Ok people, can we all just take a seat, order some lunch?" Sonny asked with exhaustion.

"Fine! But once we order our food, you are gonna spill everything!" Sami instructed.

Sonny sighed knowing that he was going to face the wrath of Sami Brady if he doesn't explain himself

* * *

"So that's how I became the manager here. I want to find out whether is he really Will." Sonny explained.

"Sonny! The first thing you should have done was to talk to us. This is serious!" Adrienne said. "Look, I don't want you to get your head so far into this again. What happens if he isn't Will? You got this good thing going on with Paul and I don't want you ruining it. Think about Paul's feelings!" Adrienne cautioned.

"Oh so that's what you're worried about. The first thing you think about is your son and his relationship with Paul. There's an extremely high possibility that the person we just saw could be my son" Sami turned to look at Sonny "aka. your husband and the first thing you think about is how your son will move on with someone else?" Sami argued.

"Excuse me I am just trying to think about my son! I do not want him wasting his time on someone and not labour any fruit." Adrienne retaliated

"And I'm not thinking what's best for mine? If that person is really my son, I need to fight for his happiness. And I know that his happiness lies with Sonny!" Sami scowled.

"Ok that's enough you two!" Sonny hauled the argument. "Look right now, I am trying to find out whether he is really Will. If he is really Will, why is he hiding his identity? Why is he acting like he does not know us? What are his difficulties?" Sonny explained.

"Does Paul know about this? Will he be ok with it?" Adrienne questioned.

"You are asking me whether Paul will be ok with it?" Sami chuckled. "Paul spent the entire evening at Chez Rouge with this guy." Sami showed the iPad to Adrienne. "If anything, it seems that Paul has gotten over-friendly with him." Sami said.

"That was just dinner and they were reviewing Chez Rouge. There's nothing wrong with two people having dinner and critiquing about food!" Sonny argued, disliking what his mother-in-law was insinuating.

"Yes, he's right Samantha. Don't read too much into the picture." Marlena chided.

"So mom, you said he had a session with you the other day. How'd it go?" Sami questioned hoping to get some sources.

"I was shocked, I told him I wasn't feeling well and to come back another day." Marlena answered.

"So are you going to see him again soon?" a glimmer of hope shone through Sami's eyes.

"No, I transfer him to another doctor." Marlena replied.

"Mom! This is your only chance to check whether he is Will!" Sami contended

"And I have a patient's confidentiality to follow. Even if he is really Will, I can't tell you anything. Whatever is said in the hospital stays in the hospital." Marlena explained.

* * *

Liam was exhausted, he was barely at work for half a day and he was all zonked out. He was getting a headache from all the yelling and screaming that was going on in the restaurant earlier. He was thankful that he got the rest of the day off.

"A few more hours before picking up Devon. I'm gonna get some beauty sleep, good night." Liam quickly took off his shoes and belt before collapsing onto the bed.

 _Liam was in a bedroom with his glued to the door as he overheard arguing from outside._

" _Please believe that I love you and that I love our son. And I am not some horrible monster. And I know that you don't think I am or you would have never fallen in love with me." The female voice argued._

" _I know exactly why I fell in love with you. My problem is I can't fall out of love with you that's my problem. You've given me that chance Sami everyday I've known you you've given me that chance." The male voice countered._

" _I am not going anywhere Lucas and I am not walking out on my son and I am not walking out on us." The female voice promised._

" _Damn, I need to see the drama" Liam quietly walked out of the room and hid in the corner. He found a couple in the living room having what seemed to be a marital spat._

" _God, giving up is a mistake and I'm not gonna do it. I am not giving up you and I am not giving up on Will! I know you love me as much as I love you!"_

" _That's right I love you but I can't…" before the man could continue any further, the lady pulled him into a fierce kiss and the two started making out._

" _Damn! This couple is highly dysfunctional. Seems like sex is the only way that can solve their problems." Liam muttered._

Liam woke up to his iPhone alarm clock ringing, he was still in a daze as he woke up from his slumber. He couldn't remember the exact details of he dreamt at the moment but he realized one thing he must stop doing.

"I must have binge-watched too many of Tameka's favourite telenovelas with English subs after she died. No more telenovelas for me." The blondethought to himself as he quickly got up and headed for the daycare centre.

* * *

"Sami we need to sort this out rationally. Remember we can't freak him out, and we need to go about this with a lot a tact." Lucas advised Sami as they were walking along Horton town Square.

"Ok, I get it. I'm sorry that I exploded in front of him at the restaurant earlier, I should've known better." Sami apologized.

"Usually I would say that you're right but considering what I saw, I was actually going to confront him and give him a hug as well. A pity that you beat me to it." Lucas joked as Sami playfully hit his arm.

As the two were walking they saw a blonde pushing a baby stroller walking right in front of them. As the blonde met eyes with the two, he quickly turned the baby stroller around and walk away.

"Liam, wait!" The two quickly ran in front of the baby stroller obstructing it.

"What do you want?" Liam sighed.

"Look Liam, we are so sorry with how we reacted earlier at the restaurant but could you just give us a moment and we will explain everything." Lucas pleaded.

Liam, looking at how earnest the two of them are, did not know what to do.

* * *

Sami took a few photos out of her handbag and slided them across the table.

"We would like you to take a look at these photos." Sami said.

Liam then took the photo up and screened through everyone in the photo. His eyes widened when he saw the man who was standing beside Sonny.

"Whoa! Who the is he?" Liam pointed at the blonde man in the photo.

"Surprised aren't you?" Sami asked. "That person right there, is our son Will Horton. He… was our everything, he was my firstborn."

"He was our pride and joy." Lucas added.

"So that's why when we first saw you," Sami paused trying to gain some composure "we reacted the way we did. I'm sorry if we overwhelmed you with our crying and hugging." Sami apologized.

Liam finally understood why everyone has been calling him Will. Initially, he thought that people in this town were just weird but upon meeting Will's parents, everything came in full circle. He actually began feeling bad for his manager and the couple sitting across him now.

"If we may ask, how old are you?" Lucas questioned.

"I'm 27." Liam replied.

Lucas nodded his head little "That's how old Will would be this year if he were still alive."

"May I ask, what happened to Will?" Liam questioned.

"Five years ago," The blonde lady trailed off "He was… he was…" Sami could not complete her sentence and burst into tears. Lucas quickly grabbed Sami's head and placed it on his shoulder.

"Will was killed, he was strangled to death." Lucas helped Sami finish her sentence.

Sami tried to regain her composure as she hestitated to ask the next question. "Where do your parents live?"

"My parents live in New York." Liam knew he wasn't telling them the whole truth but ever since he reached New York, Tamela and Ernest gave treated him like they were his flesh and blood. They even married off their daughter to him. Liam truly considered them as his real parents.

Sami's hopeful look soon turned into a look of dismay. She was hoping the man would say his parents were missing or at the very least dead. She mustered up all her courage to ask the next question, hoping she will not get rejected.

"Can I give you a hug?" Sami questioned boldly.

Liam was feeling a little reluctant to hug Sami. However, he began to feel great empathy for the parents of the deceased.

"I would do anything to have Devon in my arms again if he ever leaves me." Liam thought.

Liam then raise up both his hands as Sami took the seat beside him and embrace him tightly. Feeling the warmth of his skin, tears flowed down her cheeks as she bawled.

* * *

Liam was by his bed thinking of everything that happened earlier in the day. He now began to see the big picture. Upon second thought, he felt sorry for Sonny. If someone looked exactly your husband showed up out of nowhere, you would have gone crazy too.

He then thought of the impossible. Could he actually be Will Horton?

"No, that's not possible. Will's a journalist. I was a chef that was saved from the fire that occurred in a restaurant. I was a chef before AND after I lost my memory." The blonde snickered "I'm just a simple boy from the streets of Queens and I'm straight."

Just then, Liam's phone rang. He took his phone only to see the name 'Stalker Kiriakis'.

"Speak of the devil." Liam thought to himself as he pressed 'accept'.

"Hey Kiriakis, what's up?" The blonde greeted.

"Kiriakis? No more calling me stalker huh?" The brunette asked feeling rather amused.

Feeling bad for the way he treated Sonny, the blonde replied, "I guess you can say that I'm in a good mood. So what did you call me for?"

Sonny felt as if he were talking to the wrong person. The chef would usually speak to him with a sarcastic tone, so hearing him speak all friendly and normal seemed weird. At the same time, he hoped that Liam was ready to be friends.

"You complained that you would have no one to take care of your child when you are on dinner shift. So I have found you a perfect babysitter from now on. Don't worry, you need not pay a single cent." Sonny assured.

* * *

"Seriously? You are asking me to babysit an infant? Like right now?" Gabi questioned furiously.

"Oh come on! I asked you this morning whether you are free tonight. I can't keep paying for babysitters." Sonny begged.

"I have a life, I have a boyfriend! I have a daughter, OUR DAUGHTER! I have a job! I may have a photoshoot anytime soon." Gabi pointed out.

"Oh please, I checked with Paul. You guys do not have any photoshoots or fashion shows for the time being." Sonny quickly shot her down.

"Sonny! I can't…" before Gabi could continue, the doorbell interrupted her.

"He is here!" Sonny excitedly ran towards the door as Gabi rolled his eyes trailing after him.

"Hey Liam!" Sonny greeted as he opened the door.

"Hey stalker! What's up?" The blonde stood outside holding a baby basket. He turned his head to the left only to see a black-haired latino lady beside the brunette.

"Gabriella! I didn't know you were the babysitter!" The blonde exclaimed.

* * *

A/N: So what do yall think! Please review! I wanted to show more Lumi (Lucas/Sami) as I started watching the show because of them when I was a kid. Love it, hate it? Tell me! :D


	11. Chapter 11: Fishy business

CHAPTER ELEVEN

"Um… hey Liam! I guess I'm your babysitter." Gabi forced out a smile before shooting a glare at Sonny.

"Is it ok if I enter? My hands are aching." the blonde asked as he gestured his exhaustion from carrying the baby basket by pointing at it.

"Oh, sure sure come in!" Gabi gestured as she opened the door further to let the blonde in as the latter made his way to the sofa. Liam placed the baby basket beside him.

"I really appreciate you for doing this Gabriella, you have no idea how much this means to me." Liam thanked.

"Don't mention it, Gabi has experience!" Sonny placed his hand over Gabi's shoulders as she gave him the side-eye.

"So Gabi, where are you and JJ living at?" Liam questioned.

"Oh, actually I live here." Gabi replied.

"Hey mom! What are we having for dinner?" Liam heard a voice from behind him.

"Come here sweetie! I would like you to meet someone." Gabi replied.

The blonde turned around to find an elementary school kid walking towards Gabi.

"Liam, I would like you to meet our daughter Arianna!" Gabi introduced.

Liam was a little puzzled. This was the same kid that he saw at the baseball field he saw the other day when Paul was having baseball practice. How was it possible that a gay man and a straight woman have a family together, confusing to say the least.

"Hi Arianna! It's nice to meet you!" Liam waved his hand.

"Liam works with Daddy Sonny in the restaurant. Since Liam works at night, he can't take care of his son. So we will be taking care of the baby!" Gabi explained.

"Ooh! We will be having a baby?" Arianna quickly spotted the baby basket and excitedly ran towards it. "Hello baby, what's your name?" Arianna asked squeezing the infant's cheeks gently .

"Devon" Liam helped his son answer.

"Oh Devon! You and I will have so much fun, I will read stories and watch cartoons with you!" The girl exclaimed.

"Hold it young lady! You need to finish your math homework first!" Sonny instructed.

"Really? Math is really knocking my brain out." Arianna groaned.

"I will order pizza with double the pepperoni!" Gabi enticed.

"Ok!" The girl quickly ran back into her room and closed the door.

"I will go in to check your homework later!" Gabi warned.

* * *

"Just curious, is Gabriella your wife?" Liam questioned as they were walking through Horton Town Square.

"What? No! That's Gross! How could you think that?" Sonny said disgustedly.

"I mean, if Arianna is your daughter and Gabriella's, don't that mean that you guys were together or at one point in time?" Liam pondered.

Sonny laughed "Arianna is Gabi and Will's daughter by blood, and mine in legal print. But she's so dear to me, she's practically flesh and blood. I told you she's my adoptive daughter." Sonny reminded.

"Oh I see." The blonde remembered Sonny telling him on the brunette's first day of work.

"Arianna is pretty lively and animated!" Liam remarked.

"She is! She is the best present that Will has ever given me. Her eyes, her hair and her facial features are a constant reminder of her father." Sonny stated.

Liam went silent for a few seconds as Sonny realized he had made the conversation awkward.

The two slowly made their way to Hotel Titan. Just as Liam was about to head for the entrance, Sonny grabbed his arm and pulled him away.

"Hey what are you doing?" Liam asked using his free hand to pry open Sonny's grip from his arm.

"We have an important task to do!" Sonny's firm on Liam's arm remain tight despite the blonde's struggle to break free. Sonny then reached his car at the carpark, opened the front door on the right and threw the blonde into the car before slamming the door.

"Hey where are you taking me?" The blonde asked with frustration.

"When you go there you will find out!" Sonny smirked before he closed his side of the door and started the engine.

* * *

Half an hour later, they arrived at what appears to be a market ten minutes away from the beach.

"Why did you take me here? We are supposed to be working!" Liam snarled.

"We are working." Sonny replied nonchalantly as they headed towards the market.

The two entered the market and made their way to the seafood area.

Sonny headed his way to the first stall at the corner. He took the gloves hung at the side, wore it and grabbed the swordfish with his hand and held it right in front of the blonde's face.

"What are you doing holding a swordfish right in front my face?" Liam asked feeling a little startled.

"Is there anything that you can do with this?" Sonny asked

"Um… I guess I can?" The blonde raised his eyebrow.

"Perfect!" Sonny said as he put the swordfish down "I'm planning to expand La Strada's menu. As we are fine dining, we need to provide new entrees. We have a wide catalogue of pastas in our menu but I'm now thinking of adding new non-pasta items onto the menu." Sonny tossed the gloves to one corner and took out his iPhone and showed the blonde photos of various dishes.

"These dishes are all swordfish steaks." The blonde remarked.

"And that's your latest project. Do something with the swordfish, swordfish happens to be gaining popularity among food lovers around the country. My aim is to make sure that La Strada is known around the country." Sonny stated.

"Excuse me! I would like to know do you sell in bulks?" Sonny asked the fishmonger.

"Excuse me what are you doing?" Liam asked

"What do you think? I'm asking whether he would like to do business with me!" Sonny answered

"Seriously? We reached the fish section of the market and you already asking for business from the first guy you see?" The blonde questioned.

"It's a market, supplies are fresh everyday and the prices are around the same isn't it?" Sonny shrugged his shoulders.

"You have no idea, do you?" The blonde raised his eyebrow. "Yo! What's the freshest fish you got?"

"The salmon just came in two hours ago." The fishmonger replied.

Liam picked up the piece of salmon and smelled it.

"There's a fishy smell in it." Liam placed the fish down before walking off to the next store.

"What are you doing?" Sonny asked

"Finding another store what else?" Liam scoffed.

"Why? Don't we just need to find a store and start business with them?" Sonny wondered.

"Their freshest fish smells fishy. It was probably left in the open overnight. And they call it fresh when the fish's eyes are so dilated." The blonde rolled his eyes.

"You are good at this aren't you?" Sonny smirked.

"I am many things, stupid ain't one of them." Liam stated as he picked up the swordfish fillet. "Look, in the perfect swordfish fillet has a firm tan color to it with a firm texture. And if you look the whole swordfishes' eyes here, plenty of them are not cloudy or dilated but clear. In any fillet, there should not be any flesh separation or gaps." Liam explained to the brunette. "How much per pound for the swordfish steaks?" Liam asked the fishmonger.

"$13 per pound." The fishmonger replied.

"We are buying in bulks, could you give us a discount?" Liam bargained.

"The lowest I can go is $12.10 per pound." The fishmonger thought for a while before answering.

"And how much for the delivery?" Liam questioned.

"Depending on how much you guys order." The fishmonger replied.

"You do know the Chicago market is an hour away from here and I can probably get the same quality of fish at two bucks less per pound." Liam taunted.

"Go look at the other stores, I can assure you we are the most reasonably price considering the quality of seafood we have!" The fishmonger retaliated.

"I will do just that, thank you!" Liam calmly walked off to the next store.

* * *

For the next hour, the two men went around the market finding the finest quality swordfish with the lowest prices. Sonny was impressed with the way Liam bargained and haggle the prices down. He was dazzled by how he handled negotiations swiftly among the various uncouth fishmongers. Soon after, the two found the perfect store with top quality swordfishes at a reasonable price.

"Well that was exhausting!" Sonny sighed after taking down the contacts from the tenth store they visited.

"I agree!" The blonde yawned as he stretched his muscles and rolled his neck. "Since we are at the seafood area, why don't we have some seafood for dinner?" Liam suggested.

"Really? I don't think there are any seafood restaurants here." Sonny hoped to have dinner in a more romantic setting.

"You kidding me? Why would you wanna eat at a seafood restaurant when we have the fresher seafood straight from the ocean right here?" Liam chuckled, "Come on Mr heir to Titan industries, watch and learn." Liam walked right to the store and eyed on the salmon and the oysters. He quickly bought them and placed them in a plastic bag. He saw a few lemon slices and mini bottles of Japanese soy sauce and placed them inside the bag.

The two found a few picnic tables by the pier and they took out the food from the plastic bags as they settled down and started digging in while admiring the sunset.

"This is pretty good, I should come here more often!" Sonny ate the salmon heartily.

"What did I tell you?" Liam smiled. "The best place to eat seafood is right here in the market!" Liam smiled. "You go to an expensive seafood restaurant and they charge you for the same thing at double the cost, at half the quality!" The blonde pointed out.

Liam then took an oysters from the plastic tray and squeezed some lemon on it before offering it to Sonny!

"Now I heard that this market is one of the best markets in Illinois for oysters, so open your mouth because the airplane's coming!" The blonde slowly moved his hand which was holding the oyster towards Sonny's mouth.

Sonny chuckled a little before opening his mouth, allowing Liam to feed him.

"I would do anything for him to feed me like this everyday!" The brunette wished in his heart.

"Oh, look at all the lemon juice all over your mouth you messy eater!" Liam chided as he took a few paper napkins from the table and wiped his mouth.

Sonny stared at the blonde as the latter gently dap his lips. This was a new side of Liam Robertson he has seen. He never thought the feisty, no-nonsense chef had a soft caring side to him. Those blue eyes of concern reminded him of his husband deeply. The brunette was completely smitten at the blonde's simple gestures.

Liam felt bad for the brunette and how he treated him the first few times they met. He couldn't help but feel awful for the lost of his husband.

"Hey! I just wanna say I'm sorry for how I treated you." The blonde apologized.

Sonny was a little stunned. He'd never thought he saw the day the blonde would ever apologize to him.

"Wow! Why are you saying sorry for?" Sonny asked even though he knew what the blonde was talking about. He just wanted him to clarify.

"I have met Sami Brady and Lucas Horton over a week back. They showed a wedding photo of you and Will." Liam explained.

"I see." Sonny nodded his head.

"That's how I began putting all the pieces together. Frankly speaking, I was startled by how much I look like Will." The blonde confessed. "If I saw someone that looks just like my wife, I would have freaked out too." Liam took a photo out of his wallet and showed it to Sonny.

"This is my wife" The blonde pointed at the woman in the photo.

Sonny saw the woman in the photo and the man beside him. The couple was smiling away.

"Your wife is beautiful." Sonny said.

"Indeed she is. She was my strength and my pillar of support." Liam declared. "When I was building my first restaurant, she helped me through the process of the renovation. Even though I appeared to be a man with no prospects, she stood by me despite her parents' reservations. She was devoted to me till the very end." The blonde continued.

"Seems like she was your soulmate." Sonny said.

"Indeed she was." Liam replied. "Without her, I wouldn't be the person I am today. Without her, I wouldn't think I would be able to make it this far in life."

"What happened to her?" The brunette asked.

"She passed on after giving birth to Devon." Liam said with hestitation.

"Must've been really difficult for you." Sonny remarked.

"If anyone knows about the lost of a loved one, it will be you and me." Liam stated. "So what was Will like?" The blonde asked.

"Will, was a sweet, kind young man. He was actually my maternal cousin's maternal cousin. That's how we met. He thought I was dating our mutual cousin so he gave me a cold shoulder. Only when she introduced us, that's when he put his defenses down." Sonny laughed as he recalled.

"So I heard from Will's parents that he was a journalist." Liam remarked.

"Yes he was, and a great one at that. He had some of the best pieces of work I have ever seen. His articles were always mind-blowing and often made the front page." Sonny praised. "He even wrote one about his mother and aired her dirty laundry."

"Wow! That must have been difficult." The blonde stated.

"Yeah it was, and he had to be objective about. He had received a lot of backlash from our families but he pulled through." Sonny told Liam. "I regret not telling Will how much I love him everyday when our marriage was on the rocks."

"What happened?" The blonde questioned.

"Well, we were having some financial struggles. I invested our money on a business that tanked. And then my ex-boyfriend came to Salem, saying he wants me back. Then my ex-boyfriend slept with Will…"

"Hold it! Hold it! Your ex slept with your husband?" Liam asked, feeling startled.

"Well, yeah…" Sonny trailed off.

"What are we watching? Empire? This feels like a telenovela!" Liam opined.

"Welcome to my life" Sonny gave the blonde a smile before continuing. "So, he did many things such as setting my ex up with someone else and I wasn't too happy about that as I got jealous."

"So he had every reason to be insecure and jealous?" Liam questioned.

"Yeap, he did." Sonny sighed.

"So who's your ex?" Liam asked

"Paul Narita, Salem Elementary's baseball coach" Sonny answered.

"Whoa! That's one good-looking chap! He has every reason to be jealous!" Liam exclaimed.

Liam recalled what the Sonny's mother told him the other day at the restaurant.

" _And what about you and Paul, I heard from Ari and Gabi that you are making progress" Adrienne explained._

"So you are seeing Paul now? Your mom said that you guys had something going on." Liam questioned.

"Well, sort of. It's complicated." Sonny had no idea how to explain the state of their relationship.

"Well, Will's been gone so what's holding you back?" Liam asked another question.

"The thing is I know Will would want me to move on. What I don't know is whether he would want me to move on with Paul." The brunette confessed picking up another slice of sashimi with his chopsticks.

Liam stood up, grabbed the brunette hands and pull him towards the end of the pier.

"Come with me!" Liam exclaimed.

The two arrived at the dock of the bay and Liam placed his hands beside his mouth and faced the sea.

"Tameka, I love you! No matter what! I want you to know that I love you!" Liam screamed.

Sonny smiled, amused at the blonde.

"What are you doing?" Sonny questioned.

"Come on, try it! Vent it all out! Let Will know how much you love him! Let him know! Let it all out! Let Will know how you feel!" Liam exclaimed.

The brunette placed his hands by his cheeks and faced sea.

"Will Horton! I love you! My heart belongs to you! A part of you will always be with me! When I left, I loved you, and when I came back I still love you! I still love you up to this day and I'd probably always will!" The brunette yelled as tears welled up in his eyes.

Liam looked at Sonny's brown eyes. It seems that he has been keeping it in for quite a long time.

"He's finally letting it all out." The blonde thought to himself.

The two men turned their heads towards each other. Sonny began sobbing uncontrollably as the blonde opened his arms and embraced him.

"It's alright, it's alright." Liam comforted.

* * *

That night the brunette laid on his bed. He was replaying the entire trip to the market in his head. He relished every moment he spent with the blonde. From how the blonde taught him on choosing fresh seafood, to teaching him how to release his deepest sorrows, Liam Robertson made him feel alive for the first time in a long time.

"I want to spend more time with Liam." The brunette decided.

* * *

A/N: So what do you guys think? Please R&R! I wanted an emotional moment for WilSon! :D


	12. Chapter 12: What am I thinking?

CHAPTER TWELVE

"Team what is the matter with you? You guys were running around like wimps!" Paul screamed at the bunch of high school students before throwing the clipboard on the ground. "You!" The assistant coach pointed at one of his players, "How can you get picked off from first base! You guys are a bunch of useless wimps! What do you think you are playing here? Twenty-one 2-0 counts in two games! What kind of BULL IS THIS?" Paul continued raging as the bunch of baseball players sat quietly in remorse. "We are merely having a friendly match with Ottawa High! What happens if this is the championships? You guys are better off dead!"

Paul walked around in circles after screaming his lungs out trying to calm himself.

"Get the hell out… all of you OUT NOW!" Paul pointed towards the door before his baseball players one-by-one walked out of the locker room hesitantly.

Once all the baseball players left, Paul sat on the bench, elbows on his knees, placing his palm on his forehead. Paul felt a huge anchor weighing his heart down. If he thought the end of his pitching career was the lowest point of his life professionally, then his sagging coaching career has brought it to an all new low.

"What else can I do to make them perform? I'm at my wits end." Paul groaned as anxiety kept flooding his mind. He then remembered what a certain blonde chef told him the other night a few weeks back.

" _You fail not when you lose, but when you quit." Liam advised._

Paul smiled as he remembered those endearing blue eyes. He then recalled how a certain blonde journalist helped him through a defining moment in his life.

 _Paul got off the phone are confessing to his grandfather and mother about his sexuality. He was crying in confusion not knowing how or what to feel. He then felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked up to find the blonde looking at him with concern._

" _I'm not backing out now and once I spoke with my grandfather, I felt even more sure about what I'm doing." Paul said._

" _I'm glad." Will replied._

Paul quickly took out his cellphone and began texting.

 _ **To: Liam**_

 _ **Can we hang out at The Edge tonight? I'm not feeling too good.**_

* * *

Sonny Kiriakis had a fulfilling week. Ever since the brunette had gone for a trip to the market with Liam, Sonny and Liam began getting along very well. They would have lunch and joke with one another. Workflow has also become more productive as discussions for an updated menu; Liam put down his defenses and let Sonny brainstorm more ideas for updating La Strada's menu. After work, the two would drop by Sonny's place and Sonny would make a cup of hot chocolate for Liam while Arianna spends a little more time with Devon. The relationship has been making progress, and Sonny was extremely elated.

It's lunch hour and it was day one of their new lunch special, 'Silican Swordfish Fillet'. The two had experiment the dish for hours. The two would come into the restaurant hours before lunch or stay up late after to heat up the grill and start placing chunks of swordfish fillets onto it. Sonny relished every single time the blonde blew a piece of fish he picked up with a fork and fed him with it.

Today was the first day they will be selling Silican Swordfish Fillet, and it had a relatively positive response. Lunch hour was about to end, and Sonny wanted to ask him out for lunch at the Brady Pub. Sonny went into the kitchen hoping to find him there.

"Hey Kyla! Where's Liam?" Sonny questioned.

"Oh! Some customers want to talk to Liam so he's out there trying to talk to them. They must be praising him about the swordfish fillets!" The sous chef smiled.

"Yeah, I'm so glad that we have been getting many favourable reviews. He's been really working really hard before and after hours!" Sonny smiled wanting to give his head chef the rest of the day off. He heard the soulful jam in the background and wondered what it is.

"You know, you have got really great solid music in here. It's so different from the background music outside. It's so funky! Where is it coming from?" Sonny asked Kyla.

"That music?" Kyla smiled. "That music keeps us and Liam sane throughout lunch and dinner hours. I mean, that music saves us from getting chopped every five seconds in the kitchen. It calms Liam down and he starts grooving to the music while cooking. The tension in the kitchen drops by a hundred and fifty percent." Kyla laughed.

"It seems you guys have a lot of pressure working under him." Sonny giggled.

"Oh you have no idea." Kyla shook her head. "If the devil wears prada is a kitchen instead of a restaurant, Liam would be Meryl Streep!" She joked.

Sonny walked towards the iPod above the sink as the Stevie Wonder song ended. He unplugged it from the speaker and began scrolling down the various list of artists and albums. Looking through Leona Lewis, Luther Vandross, Whitney Houston and Donnie McClurkin, Sonny realized how much soul, R&B and blues Liam enjoyed. He was fascinated that Liam was interested in this genre of music.

"What are you doing with my iPod?" The brunette heard a stern voice from behind.

Sonny jumped a little as he turned behind to find a blonde chef behind him. However, the iPod slipped from his hands and the iPod dropped on the floor with a loud thud sound.

"What the hell!" Liam raised his voice as he quickly ran towards the iPod before bending down to pick it up.

Liam tried to on the iPod but it was unable to start up.

"Why were you looking at my iPod?" Liam scowled shaking his iPod vigorously.

"I was just looking through your music and wondering what you've got in there." Sonny replied a little anxiously. "I'm sorry I will pay for it." Sonny quickly apologized.

"Pay for it? You do know this is an old-school iPod right? Plus, I may not be able to retrieve all the music that was once inside it!" Liam narrowed his eyes before attempting to start up the iPod once more.

"Great going Kiriakis!" Liam shouted before stomping out of the kitchen.

"Ooooh boss man! You have hit an extremely I repeat, EXTREMELY raw nerve!" George commented from behind Sonny.

"I know I have dropped it on the ground. But it's just an iPod, I will but a new one if that's what he's worried about." Sonny frowned.

"Correction, it's not just an iPod. It belonged to his late wife!" George accented the last two words.

Sonny's eyes widened. He just realized that all the progress he had made with his head chef over the past week might have gone down the drain. He felt like he land on a snake right after climbing a ladder in the board game.

"Good going, Kiriakis!" Sonny chided himself in his head.

* * *

Liam walked into the club lit up by blue neon lights. The club was heavily thronged with people. It was hard for Liam. He had to jostle and weave through the crowd searching for Paul Narita. Not long after, he saw the football coach sitting at the bar downing a drink with a bottle of alcohol in front of him.

"Hmm… scotch, mind if I join you?" Paul heard a voice from behind as he was pouring himself another glass of alcohol. He turned behind and broke into a smile.

"There you are, have a seat!" Paul quickly pushed out the bar stool and asked the bartender for another glass.

Liam looked at the black-haired, realizing that his face was completely flushed.

"Seems like you have one too many. Your face is flushing!" The blonde remarked.

Paul took the bottle of scotch and showed it to Liam. "You see this bottle of scotch here? This bottle is freshly brewed from the finest barley from the Highlands. This was released in 1975." Paul then took the lower-half of his suit and showed the label on the inside of his suit.

"You see this suit right here? It was specifically tailored made by Theresa Donovan, one of the main designers of Basic Black. This suit was showcased at New York Fashion Week, and it was sold for more than two grand." Paul remarked.

"I'm sure you did not ask me here so you could brag about your bougie ass luxuries. So, what is the reason for you downing half a bottle of scotch?" Liam questioned.

Paul huffed sarcastically, "When I was a baseball star, I had it all. I could get any girl I want, the best baseball merchandises. Heck, I had three endorsement deals from Easton, Wilson, Mizuno, you name it." Paul poured himself another drink. "Now I am a model, I walk down runways all across the world. I have the best clothes all made to my liking. I get free stuff from alcohol to watches for just being the face of a label. I have the finest, I am living in luxury. If people look at my life from a bird's-eye view, and they said I have the perfect life, they aren't exactly lying."

"You sound like you have everything. Plus, Illinois Monthly has ranked you as Top 30 Most Eligible Gay Bachelors. But here you are, downing a bottle of super expensive Scotch all by yourself. Something tells me you still aren't happy. So out with it!" Liam stated.

"I have what everyone wants, but why is it so hard to get what I truly want? Why can't I have what I truly want?" Paul downed another glass of scotch.

"And what exactly do you want?" Liam asked.

Paul downed another glass of scotch, "I have placed my heart and soul into coaching Salem High for the past four years. I put my heart, my soul and everything I have got into coaching baseball. My players are my sons. I disciplined and trained them as if they were my own. And now…" Paul trailed off. He poured another glass and gulped it down faster than before.

Liam sighed, feeling helpless not knowing what to do to lighten the mood. He himself was not in the best of moods. He just lost the most valuable treasure in his life. Before Paul could gulp down another glass, Liam quickly snatch the glass from him.

"Hey! What are you doing?" Paul was startled when the blonde gulped down his drink.

"You have your sorrows, I have mine. Since you are sharing your problems, I will share mine." Liam poured himself another glass. "The bible says if two people lie together, they can keep each other warm. So, let's keep each other warm." Liam downed the glass of scotch.

Paul smiled wistfully, "So, why are you feeling so troubled?"

"I have lost the one thing, the one thing that mattered most to me." The blonde admitted.

"And what is that?" Paul asked.

"My wife's iPod" Liam stated, downing another glass. "It was the last living memory of her. The music she listens to is a constant reminder of her. And now, it's gone."

Paul saw the sorrow in the blonde's eyes. It reminded him of the look of vulnerability in a certain blonde journalist's eyes years back when he begged Paul to save his marriage. It was the same pair of eyes which held him back from pursuing Sonny further than he actually should. Upon Will's death, he realized the real reason why he hadn't pursued Sonny before the latter left for Paris. If it were any other man, Paul would have shamelessly taken Sonny away in a heartbeat. However, Paul Narita had completely fallen in love with William Robert Horton. Sonny may have been his first love, but Will was the first man to see right through him. Will was the first man who pulled all the stops to break down his walls. Will was the first man whom he actually let into his heart after putting up a front for ages.

* * *

"Gosh! You weigh like a ton of bricks!" Liam complained.

"My heart is heavier than a ton of bricks! Hahahaha!" Paul laughed in drunken stupor with his right arm around Liam's shoulder. Paul was shuffling his feet on the verge of collapsing.

"That was one long flight of stairs!" Liam groaned. He was thankful that his apartment was just beside the stairs. He didn't think he could support Paul any longer. The minute Liam unlocked his front door, he kicked it open and rushed for the sofa before pushing Paul on it. Paul collapsed onto the sofa with his head resting on the armrest.

"Move your thick legs over I need a seat!" Liam lightly kicked Paul's right leg. "You know you could lose a little weight! You're a baseball coach, not a bodybuilder!" Liam complained as he massaged his arm.

"You see this?" Paul flexed his biceps. "These are big guns! I'm one of the top male supermodels in this friggin country!" Paul slurred his words. "I'm one of People's Sexiest Man Alive! Men and women throw themselves at me! Legendary baseball pitcher Paul Narita!" Paul sat up and grabbed Liam's hand. "Men and women throw themselves at me but why can't I get the two men I truly love?" The black-haired groaned.

Liam stunned at Paul's firmed raised his voice, "Hey get your hand off me!" Liam used his free hand to pry open from Paul's grip but Paul grip got tighter before the latter open his eyes.

"Will, I can't believe it's you! I'm so glad it's you!" Paul quickly broke into a smile. He quickly pull Liam into a fierce embrace.

"What the hell?" Liam shouted as their bodies crashed together. He suddenly felt a slight electric shock, one that felt rather awkward.

"Gosh, I never thought I'd had you in my arms again!" Paul confessed, tighten his grip on Liam's waist as he nibbled Liam's shoulders.

Liam's heart began to beat faster as he felt his body temperature increasing.

"Why is my heart beating faster? What is wrong with you?" Liam began to panic in his mind.

Paul loosens his grip on Liam and placed his hands on the blonde's cheeks, staring at him intently.

"Will, forgive me for harbouring feelings for you. Forgive me for trying to steal Sonny from you." Paul asked, "I only realized that when Sonny left, I wanted to be there for you. I wanted to help you and comfort you! And when you died, I couldn't sleep for days! I couldn't stop thinking about you! That's when I realized that even though I love Sonny and I still do, I have completely fallen in love with you too! And up till this day, I still want you!" Paul confessed everything he had hidden in his heart for the past five years.

Liam stared at into Paul's green eyes, he felt a huge amount of sadness. He didn't know why he felt the sorrow and emptiness that Paul felt. He was like they were emotionally connected.

"You drive me crazy, cloud my judgement! Destroy my chances to get together with Sonny even when you're dead! But why can't I hate you?" Paul began scolding. "If you won't let me have Sonny, I must have you! I want you so much!" Paul placed his hand on the back of Liam's head, pulled his head towards him and pressed their lips.

Liam began to struggle as he kept his mouth closed when Paul tried to pry it open his tongue. Paul soon gave up and began his cheeks before slowly making it to Liam's ear.

"Get off me!" Liam tried to squirm out of Paul's arms but when Paul bit his ear, Liam went completely off guard.

"Why does this feel so familiar? This feels really good." Liam spoke at the back of his mind. As Paul's teeth sink deeper into Liam's ear, Liam threw his head back and groaned. The blonde put down his defenses as he began Paul taking the lead.

Paul slowly made his way back to Liam's mouth and he slowly unbuttoned Liam's shirt. He began feeling Liam's chest all over upon opening the shirt. Paul then pulled back to take in a view of the blonde's body. He noticed every area of his body, from the outline of his pectorals down to his flat tummy showcasing Liam's abs.

"You are still as hot as ever!" Paul said before attacking Liam's neck. Paul swirled his tongue around Liam's neck before sticking it into the latter's mouth and down his throat.

"Why am I so turned on?" Liam wondered in his head as Paul unbuttoned his jeans and grabbed his crotch area.

Just then, Liam had a flash in his head.

" _Do you need anything? Maybe some, some water?" The man placed his hand on Liam's shoulder._

" _No… nah. I don't know who you are…" Liam chuckled._

" _I should go… and… give you some." Liam pulled the man head towards him and they kissed fiercely._

 _The man quickly shoved Liam against the wall_

Liam opened his eyes, he saw Paul nibbling on his neck marking him with another hickey. He quickly shoved him aside. Paul, in drunken stupor began crying loudly.

"Will... I missed you so much! I want you!" Paul sobbed loudly.

Liam, realizing that he almost had sex with Paul quickly ran into his bedroom and shut the door. He was completely confused. He was not sure whether it was alcohol or in the heat of the moment but he believe he has gone out of his mind.

"What the hell am I thinking?" Liam began questioning his sanity. He could not believe he just made out with a guy. More importantly, he just kissed Paul Narita, the love interest of his boss.

"I'm not gay, what on earth am I doing? STUPID STUPID ME!" Liam used his palm and hit his forehead repeatedly.

Liam tried to recall the flashes in his head a few minutes ago. He remembered he walked into a tunnel and a college boy came after him and they ended up making out.

"Neil, that was his name. How do I even know his name?" Liam wondered.

Realizing that Paul was still in the living room and the babysitter will be back with Devon soon, Liam quickly took an extra blanket out of his closet and walked out of his room to the living room. Liam placed the blanket on the coffee table and carefully took off Paul's shoes before placing his legs on the sofa. He then lifted Paul's head up and placed a cushion below it.

Liam then touched Paul's forehead. He realized it was burning hot. Liam quickly took a towel and a bucket of cold water from the kitchen and soaked the towel in the icy cold water.

As Liam squeezed the towel dry, he suddenly felt a grip on his wrist which startled him.

"Will! Please let me have Sonny! I promise He won't forget you. I will love you and remember you as much as I love him. Please let me have Sonny!" Paul begged, pulling him slightly forward.

Liam pulled back slightly. He understood what it meant by losing someone you love, which was why he empathize with Paul. What he didn't understand was why he wanted to help Paul out so badly, why he felt compelled to know him better. He quickly placed the blanket on him before heading for the bathroom.

* * *

"Are you sure there aren't any other musicians on the iPod?" Sonny asked as he searched the iTunes catalogue while the four sous chef are hanging around his office table

"No, I told that's the last of it! Can we PLEASE go home now?" Lito whined as his dinner plans with Leah had gone down the drain.

"You are sure these are all the artists on Liam's iPod." Sonny wanted to confirm once more.

"Look, you have spent a few hundred dollars on iTunes trying to fill up the iPod with songs. You have done enough already!" George yawned.

"I'm on morning shift tomorrow. You are paying me for overtime!" Kyla groaned.

"Ok ok! Thanks so much." Sonny dismissed them as the four sous chef shuffled their feet to the open door and then towards the locker room.

Sonny then checked the duty roster on his computer to check what time he needed to report for work the next day.

"Oh man! Liam's off tomorrow. I guess I need to go to his place." Sonny said to himself, planning to make amends.

* * *

A/N: Ok that's it for now! I was having a little writer's block so I asked for some help. I wanna thank **aphass, JKing88** and **joelunderwood5** for all your suggestions and help. And I realize that I'm moving too slow so I will try to make it more fast-motion. Fund-raising carnival and Chad's entrance will be coming in very very soon! :D


	13. Chapter 13: Dance it out!

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Paul woke up to the sound of the electric kettle boiling and curtains rolling. When he felt a beam of light shining at him, he reluctantly opened his eyes squinting at the ray of light entering his eyes. He sat up, taking off the blanket that he was under and rubbed his eyes open only to hear the laughs of an infant.

"Oh what a night!" Paul groaned inwardly. He looked at his surroundings to see a TV in front of him and an armchair beside the sofa he was sitting on.

"Where is this place?" Paul thought to himself trying to recall as the migraine shot through his head. He soon recalled what happened last night.

" _If you won't let me have Sonny, I must have you! I want you so much!" Paul placed his hand on the back of Liam's head, pulled his head towards him and pressed their lips._

"Gosh! I kissed Liam!" Paul smacked his palm right onto his forehead. He was mortified at the confession he had made. Most importantly, he did it in front of Liam of all people!

"What the hell am I supposed to do now?" Paul panicked quietly.

" _You're still as hot as ever!" Paul remarked before attacking Liam's neck._

Paul then heard another voice coming from behind him before turning his head.

"Ooooh here comes the aeroplane!" Paul saw Liam swirling the plastic spoon making a 'swoosh' sound in front of his son's face before slowly placing the spoon into the mouth.

"You like it? Daddy put more apples into this oatmeal today!" Liam told the infant.

The infant clapped his hands and laughed heartily. Liam smiled and crinkled his nose imitating the infant as he wiped the infant's mouth and placed him back on into his playpen behind the living room.

Paul smiled as he looked at the blonde interacting with the infant. Paul enjoyed seeing Liam laughing away without a care in a world. It gave Paul some comfort and frankly speaking, it made Paul's heart melt. It reminded him of Will years back whenever he was around Arianna. Although Will was extremely hostile towards him, he enjoyed how different he behaved in front of Arianna. Seeing Liam feeding the infant mirrored Will playing with baby Arianna.

Liam then turned his head to the living room only to see Paul staring at him.

"Wait a minute, can he remember what happened last night?" Liam thought to himself. "Ok, think what would Olivia Pope do! She always have to put up a strong front even when she gets nervous!" Liam inhaled a deep breath.

"You're awake!" Liam put on his poker face before heading towards the stove, turning his back towards Paul as he quickly placed the poached eggs and banana salad on the plate.

"Do not panic, just breathe. Keep your cool!" The blonde reminded himself.

"You had one too many last night! I had to carry your tipsy ass all the way back to my place." The blonde complained light-heartedly as he poured a cup of coffee. "I've made breakfast! Eggs benedict, banana salad with tomatoes and coffee. The perfect breakfast to get over a hangover!" Liam remarked and placed the plate on the dining table.

Paul walked over to the dining table rubbing his forehead. He caught a side view of a slightly nervous Liam as the blonde placed the kitchenware into the sink and started washing them.

"He remembers what happened last night." Paul whispered inside his head.

"Eat up! If you want to get rid the hangover, you need to have a hearty breakfast!" The blonde advised.

Paul took a bite of the banana salad as he watched Liam eating as apathetic as possible. Studying the blonde's nonchalant facial expressions, Paul could not read the expressions on Liam's face.

"He seems to be giving me mixed signals. Is he even giving me signals? Or am I just thinking too much?" Paul wondered.

"This salad is amazing!" Paul complimented taking another bite of sliced banana from his fork.

"Thanks! This used to be my wife's favourite salad! On our wedding night, she drank too much champagne, so I made her breakfast in bed for her. She couldn't stop eating this." Liam recalled. Liam then saw salad dressing all over Paul lips before pulling a tissue from the tissue box and approached him.

"Look at you! You are such a messy eater, messier than my son!" Liam criticized as he began wiping Paul's lips while he chewed.

Paul looked into Liam's eyes as the latter focused on cleaning his lips. Staring into those ocean-blue eyes, the coach got lost in a trance. There something so endearing, so angelic and so calming about them, it made him feel like everything will be okay even when they were not.

Before Paul could get a hold of himself, he gently held Liam by the wrist. This grabbed Liam's attention as their eyes met. It was as it time stood still as they did not move for a few seconds.

"Ok, this is getting really weird. Does he want to kiss me? What am I supposed to do?" Liam thought as he swallowed.

Seeing the mixture of fear and uncertainty in Liam's eyes, Paul realized he had scared Liam. He quickly thought of saying something that would get him out of this awkward situation.

"Liam, we need to talk about last night." Paul said sternly.

"Oh!" Liam's eyes widened. He stared before slipping out of Paul's hand and walked back to his seat. "So… what about last night" Liam asked.

"Well, last night we have gotten a little… tipsy and we ended up well." Paul trailed off.

"We kissed and we made out?" Liam completed Paul's sentence.

"So you do remember" Paul double-confirmed.

"Well, I just want to say that you don't have to worry about a thing." Liam quickly assured. "We were both drank a lot and we went a little crazy. That's what alcohol does!" Liam laughed trying to hide his nerves.

"Yeah, I guess we were a little too tipsy." Paul gave a wistful laugh. He felt his heart sank as disappointment start flooding into him.

"What are you supposed to expect, the guy is straight! You know this" Paul chided himself at the back of his mind.

"Phew! I'm so glad we had got that out of the way. So we're cool!" Liam heaved a sigh of relief before giving Paul a bro handshake.

"Get it together Paul! Get it together!" Paul reminded himself.

"So now we got that out of the way!" Liam stood up, "Are you free today?" Liam took Paul's plate and headed for the sink.

"Um… yeah, no baseball practice today." Paul answered

"Well… lucky for you today's my off day!" Liam stated. "I doubt you would be able to go anywhere considering how much you drank." Liam said as he washed the plates. Besides, my back is aching from carrying you back here last night." Liam complained, "So I suggest we'd stay at home the whole until we get better! Why don't you go back to the living room and watch some TV?" Liam suggested.

"Ok! Thanks so much!" Paul smiled, stood up and walked to the living room. Though he just got rejected indirectly, he was asked to stay behind.

"I hope he can get some rest and maybe feel better about himself after lunch. He deserves to forget about work for a day." Liam's eyes slowly scrolled downwards to Paul's bottom. "Gosh Liam, why are you checking his ass out?" The blonde chided himself before drying the dishes.

* * *

"He's just a really nice guy. It's not something you didn't know from the first few times you met him. Snap out of it!" Paul sat down on the sofa and reached for the remote, trying to drive out the ridiculous thoughts in his head.

Paul's phone was buzzing from his jeans as he struggled to take it out from his pocket.

"Hello?" Paul answered.

"Hey! Don't forget we are supposed to have lunch at the Brady Pub!" Sonny reminded.

"Um… I'm not feeling too well. Can we change it to dinner?" Paul asked.

"Why? What's wrong with you?" Sonny asked with a slightly worried tone.

"You need not worry about a thing." Paul assured. "I had too much to drink last night and now I'm just having a little migraine." Paul assured. "I will be fine by dinner."

"Ok, if that's what you say! I guess I will meet you for dinner. See you later!" Sonny said before putting down the phone as he took the brand new iPod from his bedside table.

"Guess I will go to Liam's place after lunch." Sonny decided while Ari opened the door.

"Daddy Sonny! I need help with my Home Ec homework. They want me to bake cookies!" Arianna informed.

"Don't worry sweetheart! I've got it handled." Sonny replied.

"Guess I got to try to bake the cookies before teaching Arianna." Sonny got out of his bed and headed to the kitchen.

* * *

"I just got off the phone with Principal Simmons. Apparently DiMera Enterprises is going to be one of the main sponsors for the carnival! It seems that the baseball field will be built in no time!" Liam laughed.

"The DiMeras have been known for giving to charity. I just hope we need not meet up with Andre DiMera." Paul said.

"Why what's wrong with the guy?" The blonde asked.

"The man is notorious for his various scheming, murders so on and so forth." Paul replied as succinctly as possible. He can be annoyed by how much family history his siblings tell him.

"Wow, sounds dangerous." Liam remarked.

"He is." Paul replied.

"Well, DiMera Enterprises said that they will be willing to sponsor only if I'm willing to do a cooking showcase." The blonde stated.

"That's great well done!" Paul congratulated.

"Yeah… on top of all the planning for food from the other sponsors, I have now got to plan an easy to make snack and get all the ingredients." Liam complained. "Enough about work, today is our day off and to get our mind off work." Liam then took out a few DVD box sets. "Whenever I'm troubled at work, I take out these dramas and start watching them for a little inspiration." Liam passed the DVD box sets to Paul.

Paul looked at the DVD boxes and saw season 2 of 'Empire', season 3 of 'Scandal' and the latest season of 'How to Get away with Murder'.

"Scandal and How to Get Away with Murder. Someone's a Shonda Rhimes fan!" Paul stated.

"When life gets me down, I look up to strong independent women like Olivia Pope, Cookie Lyon and Annalise Keating. Whenever these bad bitches face adversity, they do their best to appear calm and think of every solution possible. Because only when we remain calm, we can truly go against tide." Liam stated as he popped in a DVD. "Now watch and learn how to deal with everyday bullshit!" Liam walked back and let his body fall onto the sofa.

Paul turned his head towards the blonde on his left and smiled.

* * *

Kayla was pacing back and forth in her office. She had not been sleeping well the past few weeks. Just when she finally been through everything with Ava, Steve and her rebellious son over the past five years. She could not believe she was facing problems with her career and the possible big reveal of the incident five years back.

 _Kayla was going back to her office after lunch, when she ran for the lift and saw Marlena._

" _Hey Marlena! You just got back from lunch as well?" Kayla asked. Seeing Marlena lack of response, Kayla asked again? "Marlena? Marlena?"_

" _Oh Kayla! I didn't see you there" Marlena replied, feeling a little startled._

 _Kayla noticed Marlena getting all jittery and lost in her own thoughts._

" _Hey! Are you alright?" Kayla asked._

 _Marlena nodded her head lightly._

" _Judging from the way you nod, no you are not alright." Kayla pulled Marlena out of lift and sat her down onto one of the chairs beside the reception._

" _What are you doing?" Marlena questioned._

" _Just relax, I'm going to get some coffee and we are going to talk." Kayla said before walking towards the vending machine to buy some coffee._

" _Ok here's your coffee!" Kayla passed the cup to Marlena and the latter took a sip._

" _Ok, now that you got your coffee, please tell me what's wrong. You don't look too good, do you need a day off or something?" Kayla probed._

" _No, thanks Kayla but I don't think that there's anything you can do about this." Marlena gave a wistful smile._

" _You're usually not so lost in your thoughts. If there's anything I can help you with, tell me." Kayla pleaded._

 _Marlena sighed. "Alright! I guess people are going to know about this sooner or later. Might as well be sooner."_

" _So what happened?" Kayla questioned._

" _I saw Will." Marlena replied._

" _What?" Kayla asked._

" _Sami, Lucas and I, we saw someone who looks like Will from top to toe." Marlena repeated._

 _Kayla's eyes widened._

Ever since that conversation with Marlena, Kayla has began asking around town about who the new chef was. She had also done plenty of research on the blonde chef herself.

Kayla quickly picked up the phone and dialed the numbers, waiting for the phone to ring.

"Hello Chad, this is Kayla, Kayla Brady. I have some terrifying news." Kayla said.

* * *

Paul and Liam were watching episodes of 'Scandal'. Paul watched as Olivia Pope gave her signature quotes, being the heroine who saves the USA.

" _So your life is unfair so what?... The Cyrus Beene I know doesn't hide in his half-empty closet like a little bitch baby. The Cyrus I know is a patriot and he bites the bullet, and he does what he takes to serve the republic at all cost!" Olivia scolded as the man walked away_

" _Who are you Cy? Who are you?!" Olivia questioned._

" _I'm one of the most powerful man in the world." Cyrus replied sternly._

" _Oh yeah, so you aren't a bitch baby?" Olivia taunted._

" _I run this country, I'm nobody's bitch baby!" Cyrus shouted_

" _Then show me Cyrus Beene, show me who you are!" Olivia encouraged._

"That's right Olivia! Tell him!" Liam shouted across the screen.

Paul turned his head to face the blonde. "You idolize her, don't you?"

"Didn't you just saw the motivational talk she gave him?" The blonde signal his hand towards the TV. "She just completely turned him around in just a few minutes. And now, the gay guy is now announcing to the world about his marriage, moving on with his life." Liam stated the obvious.

"You seem to have a thing for strong, independent women." Paul laughed.

"Well, you were complaining about your career crisis and though it's just a show, Olivia Pope has given me some sort of wisdom throughout the rough patches of my life." Liam confessed as he turned off the TV. He then took another remote from the coffee table and pointed it towards the radio on the shelf above beside the TV.

"Now time to follow the ways of Olivia Pope with a little Faith Evans." Liam said as the music began playing.

 _It's alright to party_

 _Get out you see, get on up y'all! (Sometimes we all need to have a good time!)_

"Come on, dance with me!" Liam stood up and gesture with his hands for Paul to stand up!

"You have got to be kidding me" Paul giggled

"This is our day off! Let it go! And free yourself!" Liam raised his voice so Paul would be able to hear him over the music.

Paul laughed, feeling second-hand embarrassment as he cheeks turned red.

 _Wait a minute can I get a witness?_

 _If you really understand where I'm coming from_

 _Put your back up in it_

 _Ain't no problems in here we're just having fun!_

"We are going to dance it out, dance through the fire and dance through the rain. That's how we will finish!" The blonde stated as he pulled Paul up. A few minutes later, Paul gave up resisting as he started to imitate the salsa dancers he saw at a Mexican fashion show and grooved with Liam.

* * *

Sonny was walking along the corridor trying to find Liam's address. He then heard loud music coming from the corner apartment on the other side. He followed the music until he reached the apartment.

"Who would play such loud music at this time of the day?" Sonny wondered.

"You have reached your destination" Sonny heard the robotic voice coming from his iPhone.

"What? Why is he causing so much noise pollution?" Sonny wondered as he did his best to peek from outside the kitchen window. Thankfully the window was open which allowed Sonny to pop his head into the house. When Sonny finally got a clear view of the living room, he was completely stunned to find the two people in the living room.

"How the hell are they together?" Sonny's eyes narrowed the sight of Liam trying to tango with the baseball coach made him boil. He couldn't help but feel rage. Sonny quickly took his head out and the pressed the doorbell. When nobody responded, Sonny pressed the doorbell incessantly.

"I'm coming!" Sonny heard Liam's voice and seconds later, unlocking of the door.

"Hello, how may I help…" Liam trailed off when he realized who the man was standing at the doorway.

"What are you doing?" Sonny asked accusingly.

"What do you mean by what am I doing?" Liam lowered the volume of the radio with the remote in his hands. "This is my apartment; I can do whatever the hell I want." Liam continued. "What are you doing here?"

"Hey Liam! Who's that at the…" Paul trailed off when he turned his head and saw the brunette staring at him.

"Sonny, what are you doing here?" Paul asked, startled.

"I should be asking the same question." Sonny questioned back.

"He's here because he got drunk and I took him back to my place." Liam replied. "Anyway, what are you doing here?" Liam questioned Sonny, raising his eyebrow.

"Well, I'm here to give you something." Sonny then took out an iPod Touch and passed it to the blonde.

"I got you a new iPod for you. Now before you say anything, I just want to say that I managed to get plenty of the songs that used to be on your iPod." Sonny rambled on, "I know it's all the songs but I tried to retrieve as many as possible."

Liam looked at Sonny who stared nervously on the ground. Liam felt bad for how he went off on the brunette the day before. Sonny after all did not really mean to drop his iPod after all.

"I'm sorry for going off on you yesterday as well." Liam apologized. "It was just that the iPod really meant a lot to me. Thanks so much for trying to make it up to me!" The blonde smiled.

"Hey Liam! Thanks for having me and thanks for breakfast. I think I need to go!" Paul inetrrupted as he took his coat from the armchair beside the sofa.

"Hey why don't you stay for lunch Paul?" Liam asked. "I'm planning to clear out some of the leftovers I have today?" Liam suggested.

"You guys are having lunch? Count me in." Sonny barged in and sat himself down on the sofa.

"You sure got thick skin." Liam rolled his eyes. Before he continue, Liam's cellphone rang.

"Just one moment, guys I'm going to the bathroom to answer this call." Liam walked into the bathroom.

* * *

When Liam reached the bathroom, he shut the door and pulled out the phone from his pocket before answering it.

"Hello?" The blonde answered.

"Hey Liam! Oh thank God it's you! I need your help!" Gabi rambled.

"What do you need help with?" Liam questioned.

"Sonny just left me in the lurch with nothing but flour and chocolate chips in the kitchen. Like hello? I can't cook!" Gabi complained.

"And why do you need to cook?" Liam asked.

"This is actually Ari's Home Ec project, and cooking is just not my expertise!" Gabi groaned.

"Stay calm, I will be down there in a second." Liam assured before putting down the phone.

"Why are you so upset that I spent the morning with Liam?" Liam heard a voice coming from outside.

"You lied to me! You told me you got a hangover and that you needed to rest!" Sonny argued.

"I was indeed resting!" Paul argued.

"What's with all the loud music and dancing earlier? That did not seem like someone who just got a migraine." Sonny rebutted.

"Liam was just trying to make me feel better that's why he told me to dance." Paul explained.

"I'm not happy that you kept the fact that you stayed at someone else's place and not tell me about it." Sonny said.

"Is that so? Or are you jealous? Wait a minute who are you jealous of that's the real question. Me for hanging out at Liam's place, or at Liam for hanging with me?" Paul questioned.

Those questions silence Sonny. If he were truly honest with himself, he did not know the answer to Paul question, he did not want to know it.

Liam, overhearing the entire conversation opened the bathroom door and walked back towards the living room.

"Hey guys! I'm sorry but I need to go, something cropped up. So why don't you guys just go for lunch together?" Liam suggested.

"Why? Is there anything wrong at the restaurant?" Sonny wondered

"No, this is a personal matter. Btw Kiriakis, you need to work on your parenting skills and not rely on your straight wife for everything." Liam advised.

Sonny raised his eyebrow, having no idea of what the blonde was talking about.

* * *

"Hey Liam! Thanks so much for coming to the rescue!" Gabi sighed in relief.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." Liam dismissed. "First things first, I need to put these groceries and my son down." Liam made his way to the kitchen and put down the paper bag he was carrying. He then made his way to the living room before unfastening the baby carrier, carefully placing Devon on the sofa.

"What have you got inside the paper bag?" Gabi asked.

"On my way here, I went to the grocery store to pick up some things. Everything that a cookie needs butter, peanut butter, white sugar, vanilla, and baking soda." Liam stated. "You do have eggs and salt right?" Liam asked.

Gabi quickly opened the fridge and took out three eggs and ran to the stove to take out the bottle of table salt. "Here you go!"

"Thanks and where's Arianna?" Liam questioned.

"Is anyone calling me?" Arianna asked when she ran out of her room and saw Liam. "Hey Liam!" Arianna greeted excitedly. "Is Devon here?"

"Yes, Devon is here!" Gabi replied.

"Yay! I want to spend more time with him!" the younger blonde exclaimed.

"Hold it right there, young lady! Where do you think you're going?" Liam questioned sternly.

"Playing with Devon while Mom helps me bake the cookies?" Arianna replied innocently.

"Excuse me, but you do realize that this is YOUR PROJECT right? That means, you need to take part in this activity" Liam gave the kid a side-eye.

"Yeah, but cooking is tough." Arianna groaned.

"Sweetheart, being bad at something is the first step to being great at something. And you can't ask your parents to do your homework entirely can you?" Liam questioned.

"Actually Sonny and I don't want her near the kitchen, we don't want her playing with fire." Gabi interjected.

"You know EM Forster once said 'Spoon feeding in the long run only teaches us nothing but the shape of the spoon'." Liam drew a shape of a spoon in the air. "So unless you want your daughter to only learn how a spoon looks like and not eat all by herself, I suggest we help her do her project, instead of doing it on her behalf." Liam advised.

Gabi's eyes widened, she was stunned by what the blonde had just said. When Sonny first moved back from Paris, he brought back EM Forster's novels and placed them along the shelves. He would reprimand Arianna whenever she touched those books.

"Sonny said EM Forster was one of Will's favourite authors!" Gabi thought to herself.

"So Arianna, I think you should start on your homework. Don't worry I will guide you along the way!" Liam encouraged.

"Alright!" Arianna relented after giving it some thought. "I guess it's much better than doing Math."

Liam smiled when a sudden thought come into his brain. "How on earth do I even know a quote from EM Forster?"

* * *

A/N: Ok this was a relatively long chapter for me! But I hope that you guys will love it! So tell me what do you think! R&R!

PS. I just needed to add some 'Scandal' references into this. Liam being surrounded by African-americans over the past five years, he would watch shows that would be popular among them. On top of that, it shaped him up into the no-bullshit feisty chef that he is. Which was why I wrote in the references.

Btw, the song Liam and Paul were dancing to is 'Good Time' by Faith Evans feat. Problem.


	14. Chapter 14: ich kann Deutsch sprechen

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Liam, Arianna and Gabi were sitting down in the living room watching a rerun of 'Rebelde'. The three were happily eating popcorn and Arianna would add in her commentary every few minutes. They were waiting for the cookies to be baked.

"No Manuel! Don't you dare kiss Sabrina! NO!" Arianna shouted at the screen when the couple began making out.

Liam, realizing how Arianna's eyes were glued, turned his head to Gabi's direction and gave her the side-eye. "Is this what you actually feed your daughter with, Spanish soap operas?"

"Arianna is my daughter, which means she is half-Latino. There's nothing wrong with her getting touch with her roots." Gabi bragged.

"So you think she can relate to her roots by watching high school drama in Espanol?" The blonde emphasized on the last word.

"Hey! I'm trying to teach my daughter Spanish here." Gabi huffed. "Excuse me, but I don't want my daughter to end up being another coconut. The only way she would be able to learn Spanish is through interest. This way, she would be able to ace all her Spanish tests by the time she reaches high school!" Gabi justified proudly. "Isn't that right, Mi hjia?"

"Shhh…" Arianna shushed her mother.

"You see, simple and effective!" Before Gabi could continue, the timer went off.

"Those must be the cookies." Liam stated. "Come on, Arianna the cookies are baked."

"Do I have to?" Arianna groaned.

"If you want to wait until your cookies are burnt, you will get an F for this assignment." Liam warned.

Arianna reluctantly got off the couch as Gabi turned off the TV before they head for the kitchen.

"Ok Arianna, I will help you take out the cookie tray from the oven." Liam then took the oven mittens from the sink and wore them before opening the oven door.

"Ok hot piping Peanut butter chocolate chip cookies fresh from the oven!" Liam exclaimed as he placed the tray of cookies on the wooden coaster on the dining table.

"The cookies smell great!" Arianna happily remarked as she reached out her hand to grab a piece.

"Arianna, don't touch the cookies with you bare hands just yet! They haven't cooled down. You don't want to scald your hands! Wash your hands first." Gabi pulled Arianna's hands away.

"Do you guys have any ice-cream?" Liam asked.

"Yeap, we do have a tub in the freezer." Gabi answered.

Liam quickly searched the freezer and took the tub out and searched the drawers for a spoon before opening the ice-cream tub.

"What are you doing?" Gabi asked.

"When the cookies are hot, it best to serve them with ice-cream!" Liam stated, placing the scoop ice-cream on the plates.

"Arianna, get the forks." Gabi instructed.

"Ok, let's dig in!" Liam stated. "Arianna, remember to blow on the cookies before eating. You don't want to burn your tongue." Liam advised.

The three used their fork to cut the cookie and scooped a portion of their ice-cream as they take a first bite of the blonde girl's first snack she prepared.

"This is really good!" Arianna exclaimed with joy. She excitedly cut herself another piece of cookie and put it in her mouth.

Liam and Gabi watched the little blonde girl eat her cookies greedily with ice-cream smudge all over her face.

"Gosh, she is adorable!" Liam thought.

"Ari, chew slowly! I don't want you to choke!" Gabi warned her. "You know why don't you take a picture with Ari, this will go great on my instagram!" Gabi exclaimed.

"Yeah Mom, I'm gonna let all my friends know that a celebrity chef helped me baked the cookies!" Arianna said excitedly.

"Ok, get ready to smile!" Gabi said after arranging the tray of cookies on the table. "One, two, three!" Gabi snapped the photo and started finding a colour filter for instagram.

As the three were happily eating and laughing away, Sonny was leaning on the door behind him as he carefully watch Liam interacting with Arianna and Gabi. Seeing them happily eating cookies made him wonder what could have been when Will was alive. He wondered would his family still be completely intact.

"Would Will still be laughing happily if he were still here? Or would we be in a miserable marriage without trust." Sonny wondered to himself.

Gabi looked at the hallway and spotted Sonny.

"Sonny! There you are, where did you go?" Gabi asked in a slightly demanding tone. She was still angry at him for leaving her in the lurch.

"Oh… I was out, for lunch with Paul." Sonny replied hastily.

"Well, just because you have a boyfriend doesn't mean you get to leave your daughter in the lurch with a bag of flour and a box of chocolate chips." Gabi folded her arms. "I have a boyfriend too and I don't leave Ari at home helpless!"

"Ok ok, I'm sorry." Sonny raised his hands up in the air like criminal surrendering.

"You should be." Gabi snarled.

Liam's phone vibrated through his jeans. He struggled to pull his cellphone out of his left pocket. He arched his back and lifted his bottom slightly for easier access to his iPhone. What the chef did not know was that Sonny was ogling at him in those tight sapphire faded jeans. His eyes took in greedily at the sight of Liam's groin.

"Easy Kiriakis." Sonny gulped as he said to himself.

"I'm going to take a shower." Sonny stated before entering his room.

Liam opened the text message he had received.

 _ **From: Paul**_

 _ **Hey! I was just looking at the overview of the carnival; I think we need to relocate some of the food stalls to make way for the dunk tank.**_

"Hey guys, I need to go out for a short while, I need to take care of some stuff for the carnival." Liam stated as he stood up and put his cellphone back into his pocket. "Gabi, would you mind taking care of Devon for just a short while." Liam requested.

"Sure, I will be home all night! Go do what you need to do!" Gabi assured Liam.

Liam pushed in the chair and headed for the door when JJ entered from it.

"Gabi! I've got some…" JJ trailed off when he saw Liam. "Hey Liam, what are you doing here?" JJ wondered.

"Oh! Gabi called me to help Arianna bake cookies for her project." Liam replied as he saw JJ holding a box, "What are you holding?" Liam approached JJ as the latter passed him the box.

"I bought this as a gift for Gabi. This is the latest perfume from Mad World, limited edition and only released in Europe!" JJ bragged.

"Hey JJ! What brings you here?" Gabi asked, proceeding towards JJ and pecking him on the lips.

"Well I've got a special gift for my girlfriend!" JJ placed his arms around Gabi's waist. "This is a limited edition bottle of perfume from Mad World. There are only two-hundred bottles of these manufactured in Europe. I had Mad World personally engrave a quote on the bottle." JJ tried to impress.

"That's so sweet of you!" Gabi proceed to press her lips against JJ's.

"Du bist die Liebe meines Lebens, that means 'You are the love of my life' in German." Liam laughed as he translated the phrase on the bottle.

"Wow! How did you know that? You speak German?" JJ asked, stunned.

"Yeah, I guess I speak german." Liam laughed as he shrugged his shoulders. "Anyway, I gotta run. Good work Inspector." Liam praised as he walked out of the apartment.

"Gabi is such a lucky woman! She has a boyfriend whom engraved a quote in german on a bottle!" Liam smiled. Just then Liam stopped in his footsteps as a sudden revelation hit him.

"I just translated an entire phrase from German to English." Liam realized. He was completely flabbergasted. "What is wrong with me?" Liam thought to himself.

* * *

"I hope you enjoy your present babe!" JJ passed the present to Gabi. "Babe?" JJ pulled the sleeve of Gabi's shirt trying to gain her attention. However, she stood silent with widened eyes, jaw dropped, staring at her front entrance.

"Babe!" JJ snapped his fingers.

"Oh my god!" Gabi exclaimed.

 _Gabi was working at the Brady Pub while Will was sitting down at one of the tables trying to figure out the courses he would choose for his upcoming semester._

" _Hey! I'm about to knock off soon. Just fifteen more minutes and I'm yours for the rest of the evening." Gabi said and she placed her arms around Will's neck from behind and planted a soft kiss on his cheek._

" _Don't worry about it, babe! I'm pretty much occupied myself!" Will assured._

 _Gabi saw the Will looking through the various electives he would like to take up._

" _I see… you want to take up another language?" Gabi asked. "You should since you aced your French in high school! How about German?" Gabi pointed at the paper._

" _Gabi, I did my elementary school and junior high in Switzerland. Though I haven't spoken the language for years, I can still speak german very fluently!" Will laughed. "Which was why I took French in high school. I learnt math and science in German with French as a mother tongue language." Will saw a spanish elective and smiled. "You know what? Maybe I will take up Spanish. That way I can communicate with your family!" Will joked._

"What happened babe, what's wrong?" JJ questioned worriedly

"Liam just translated an entire phrase to English." Gabi explained.

"What do you mean?" JJ questioned.

"Liam understands German." Gabi tried to explain once more, recovering from her state of shock.

"Yeah, Liam understands German. So what about it?" JJ shrugged his shoulders.

"Will spent a few years schooling in Switzerland." Gabi told JJ.

"And?" JJ shook his head slightly

"Don't you get it?" Gabi smacked JJ's head lightly. "German is Switzerland's national language! And BOTH Liam and Will understands German!"

"Oh oh!" JJ finally understood what Gabi was trying to say. Just then, the sudden realization Gabi had a few minutes ago hit him. "Oh my God!" JJ exclaimed in shock. The two both jumped a little when they heard the opening of the bedroom door.

"Hey guys!" Sonny came out of his bedroom with fresh clothes. "I know Arianna baked those cookies but I hope those cookies won't spoil her dinner." Sonny looked around the apartment. "Where's Liam?" He asked.

"Oh Liam?" Gabi hesitated a little trying to get out of her funk, "Liam needed to settle some stuff for the carnival." She answered truthfully.

"Wait a minute, Liam is discussing about the carnival?" Sonny's eyes narrowed as he frowned.

"That means he's with Paul!" Sonny thought to himself bitterly.

"Oh for God's sake!" Gabi placed her palms on her forehead, "Liam and Paul have a carnival to plan, Paul's in charge of this. Let it go!"

Sonny opened the coat closet and took his jacket. "I gotta go out for a while, take care of dinner. I don't want Ari to end up starving." Sonny took off.

"Should I follow him? You know to make sure everything's alright?" JJ asked.

"No, we are going to let them solve their own problems." Gabi raised her index finger, she then heard Devon crying. "Besides, we have problems of our own." Gabi stated. "Keep the remaining cookies in the kitchen, make sure Arianna doesn't eat all of them. I will take care of the baby." Gabi instructed.

* * *

Kayla heard a knock on her office door.

"Come in!" Kayla hollered.

"Hey sweetness! I'm home!" Steve was holding a bouquet of flowers as heapproached her desk and ive her a kiss on the cheek.

"Hey Steve! How was your trip?" Kayla gave him a hug.

"What's new? A rich wife suspects her husband's unfaithful, I traveled to Chicago and caught him red-handed." Steve said in a monotone voice.

"You know ever since you and John started Black Patch, you seem pretty bored with the business. I feel like I'm tying you down." Kayla said regrettably.

"Well sweetness," Steve looked at Kayla in the eye, "I'm not going to lie and say that I do miss the crazy adventure I had with the ISA, but I think I had been through enough of that in my lifetime. I want peace and serenity now." Steve stated. "When I promised I wouldn't run off again, I meant every single word of it. You, Steph and Joe are the most important people in my life." Steve assured. "My family comes first." Steve smiled hoping to alleviate Kayla's worries but she didn't stop frowning.

"What's the matter sweetness? Is something wrong?" Steve asked.

"Well Steve, there's something I have to tell you." Kayla looked Steve into the eye before proceeding to her office door, locking it.

"Kayla, you are starting to scare me a little." Steve said worriedly.

"Steve, why don't you take a seat." Kayla walked Steve to the couch as they both sat down. "Steve, I had done something pretty bad, pretty serious."

"Well, we have been through so much together. If there's anything I know, it is that we will go through this together." Steve said with conviction.

"Here's the thing, I think I might lose my job." Kayla said with fear in her voice.

"What is it Kayla? You need to tell me!" Steve was starting to get more anxious.

"Ok so here it goes…" Kayla said hesititantly.

* * *

"Ok, thanks Uncle Vic! This means so much to me!" Sonny said gratefully on the phone as he was walking through Horton Town Square.

Sonny searched high and low in Salem for Liam and Paul. He searched everywhere he could, from the park, Salem Elementary and even the locker room in Salem High. Indeed, Sonny Kiriakis has gone ballistic.

"Now I truly understand how Will felt." Sonny told himself.

Just as he was passing through Horton he suddenly caught a vision of Paul from the corner of his vision. He then stopped and turned around. Right before his eyes were the two men, once again chatting away happily with a coffee table right in front of them.

Sonny's eyes narrowed as he quickly approached the table.

"Hey guys! What are you two doing here?" Sonny smiled exaggeratedly.

"Oh hey Kiriakis!" Liam looked up and greeted him.

Paul's eyes narrowed when he saw Sonny taking a seat beside both of them on the round table.

"My Uncle Vic just got off the phone. He heard about the carnival and heard that this will be a good cause." Sonny faced Paul. "So I asked Uncle Vic and he has agreed to close La Strada for a day. Everyone from the restaurant will be helping out at the carnival!" Sonny notified.

"Oh that's great! The sous chef will be able to ensure food quality and we definitely all the hands we can get!" Liam smiled.

Paul glared at Sonny the second Liam looked away from him.

* * *

"Wait a minute Kayla! So you are telling me that the chef working at Hotel Titan right now, is Marlena's grandson, Will Horton?" Steve asked in shock.

Kayla nodded her head hesitantly.

"Oh my God! You should have told me when you first snuck a dead body out!" Steve rubbed the temples of his head.

"I know I should have told you! But back then our relationship was unstable; I didn't know whether to accept you back then. Plus, back then we had a rebellious Joey to deal with!" Kayla exasperated.

"Ok, that's all in the past now." Steve approached Kayla and held her shoulders. "I think what's best for now is that we tell Marlena, John, Lucas and Sami." Steve advised.

"Are you kidding? We can't tell Sami about this! We know all hell will break loose if she finds out I kept it from her for so long!" Kayla shrieked.

"She's Will's mother. She has every right to know." Steve said sternly. "Besides, Will has been in Salem most of his life. The slightest object may trigger his memory. Based on what you said, I'm surprised he had gotten this far without remembering much." Before Steve could continue, his cellphone rang.

"Hello" Steve answered.

"Hey! It's John, we've got a new client, he wants us over in an hour's time." John informed

"Ok, I got it." Steve replied before hanging up the phone.

"Was that John?" Kayla asked.

"Yes, we've got a new client and he wants us there soon." Steve answered.

Kayla sighed.

"Don't worry sweetness, We will tell them together. We will get through this." Steve assured Kayla by kissing her forehead before walking out of her office.

* * *

"So now that we have placed the taco stands here where should we place the whack-a-mole and the ring toss?" Liam asked Paul.

"Hmmm… I think we should place it right here." Paul pointed on the roughly-sketched piece of map which was drawn by them.

Sonny was annoyed as he watched the two of them discussing plans for the carnival. They were talking about work no doubt, but he just couldn't shake off the uncomfortable insecurity in his heart.

"Come on Sonny, it's not you to feel like this." Sonny chided himself inwardly. "It's just I can't understand why Liam sulks whenever he looks at me but whenever he looks at Paul he's face suddenly lights up! Am I so repulsive? At work he doesn't smile at me!" Sonny grumbled in his mind. Though Sonny was lost in his train of thoughts, he heard a sentence which sure got his attention.

"Would you like to do it with me?" Paul asked Liam

Sonny's eyes widened.

"Come on, Paul" Liam's face flushed a little as he laughed, "I can't do this, I think I will be too cold!"

"Come on Liam! It's gonna to be fun! Plus, I will be doing it with you, all the way!" Paul pleaded.

Paul's second sentence lighted up a fire in Sonny.

"Paul has so many opportunities to hang with him! No way I'm letting him do it with Liam." Sonny thought to himself.

"I'll do it!" Sonny volunteered hastily.

Liam and Paul raised an eyebrow as they faced Sonny.

"You'll do it?" Liam and Paul asked in unison.

"Yeah, why not?" Sonny shrugged his shoulders.

"You are sure about this." Paul gave him a sideeye.

"Are you kidding? I'm game for anything!" Sonny laughed trying to put on a confident front

"Ok…" Liam stretched the word. "Since Kiriakis will be able to take it, I guess we can put you and him as our guy for the dunk tank." The blonde wrote some notes down.

Sonny's eyes widened.

"What the hell did I just got myself into?" Sonny flabbergasted.

* * *

"Ok, let's go through the facts." JJ stated. "Both Liam and Will know about literature and they both can speak German."

"But Liam is a chef and Will can't cook." Gabi pointed out. "Liam is a straight man with a son while Will is gay."

"If Liam is really Will, he would be extremely careful with the little details. But he acted like he got nothing to hide about his ability to speak German." JJ remarked.

"Even so, not everyone can speak German, don't you think this is too much of a coincidence?" Gabi noted. As the two were racking their brains, Gabi's thought of an idea.

"I've got it!" Gabi exclaimed.

"What do you mean?" JJ asked.

"I know how we can further prove whether or not Liam is Will." Gabi stated.

"How?" JJ shrugged his shoulders.

"I will need some of my model friends to help me with this. We are going to put him to the test." Gabi grinned devilishly.

"I was just thinking we should get his DNA." JJ countered.

"Are you kidding? Getting his DNA takes effort, we need to be stealth. If we had a meal together and the waitress ask can we change your cutlery, are you going to tell her no 'we need this fork to test someone's DNA?'"

"I'm a cop, it is my job and my field of expertise to be discreet." JJ gave Gabi the side-eye.

"Ok fine, we will each do it our ways." Gabi said. "Two more pieces of evidences are better than one anyway."

"Do you think we should tell Sonny and Paul about this?" JJ asked

"Are you kidding? Paul and Sonny were so close to entering a relationship!" Gabi slapped JJ's arm. "If it weren't for Liam they would have been together by now after a gazillion years. If they find out about what we're doing, it could ruin everything for them. Especially if Liam really isn't Will."

* * *

A/N: Ok so that's it for now. Sorry it took so long for this chapter. Pls R&R! :D

Btw, I have gotten a review on why my characters are so out of context. My guess is why I wrote Sonny as the more aggressive, flirtatious one chasing Liam while Paul is taking the softer approach when in actual fact, it should be the other way round.

For Sonny, I wrote him as the flirtatious, shameless one chasing Liam around due to Liam's bad first impression of him. As Liam kept on dismissing him, being nice and polite wouldn't make Liam notice him. Thus, Sonny is doing pulling all the stops for Liam to notice him.

For Paul, he is taking the soft approach because he felt that he had made many mistakes with Will. If Liam were really Will, Paul did not want to make the same mistake by being all flirtatious and aggressive like before. Thus, Paul is actually taking the time to be more gentle and patient in knowing Liam better and actually bonding.

Oh and this chapter is called 'ich kann Deutsch sprechen' which means 'I can speak german'.


	15. Chapter 15: All Of Me

A/N: Since I heard about Robert Scott Wilson's (Ben) return and Kate Mansi's (Abby) departure, I was on pissed off mode. So from now on, I decided you know what, screw it! I'm going to write this as planned and do what I want with this story. I will also admit that I haven't been updating this as I was on vacation and helping my mom with clearing some of her stuff lol! :P

* * *

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

John and Steve were sitting at the Brady Pub waiting for their next client.

"Do you know who we are going to meet today?" Steve asked, taking a sip of his coffee.

"You'll see." John replied.

A few seconds later, a man they both recognized walked into the pub. Steve was pleasantly surprised.

"Andel Bynes!" Steve saw his former ISA colleague as he stood up and gave him a hug.

"It has been a while Patch!" Andel replied with a smile, glad to see old friends he been through thick and thin with.

"So what are you doing here in Salem?" Steve asked.

"Actually Steve, He's the one that wanted to meet us today." John interjected. "Why don't we all have a seat?" John directed them back to the table he was sitting on.

"So why would you like to meet us today?" John asked.

Andel indicated with his hands to move their heads closer, not wanting anyone else to hear what they were saying.

"I'm here because there's this man called Clyde Weston that broke out of prison. I believe he is heading back to Salem to take revenge on the DiMeras." Andel whispered.

"Oh God! What has Andre done again?" Steve placed his palm on his forehead.

"Based on what I have heard, Clyde Weston would like to take revenge on the youngest DiMera. Chad DiMera. He's out to avenge his son, Ben Weston." Andel stated.

"Wait a minute, Ben Weston, as in the Necktie Killer?" Steve asked.

"Yes Steve, the Necktie Killer." John replied.

Andel's cellphone vibrated, and he took it out to see the text message.

"Oh crap." Andel sighed.

"What's the matter?" John asked.

"There was a fire at Elgin Mental Health Center. Once the fire's been put out, there were a few patients missing." Andel answered. "Apparently, Ben Weston is one of them."

"Oh crap! He must be on his way to Salem!" John voiced out his worry.

Upon hearing the bad news, multiple thoughts were running through Steve's head. He was confused, he had no idea whether to tell John the truth now.

"Will might be in danger again. I can't give John or Marlena a reason to panic. It's better for now if this is kept a secret." Steve thought to himself.

* * *

"Ok, I think we have managed to have everything settled!" Paul said as he began packing up the stationeries into his pencil case.

"Yeah, I guess we do have almost everything settled!" Liam reiterated. "Hey Kiriakis! Thanks for contributing some help to the carnival. Takes a heavy load off my chest to have my sous chef ensuring quality control!"

"Just doing my job as a citizen of Salem." Sonny shrugged his shoulders with a smirk on his face.

Seeing Sonny trying to impress Liam once more, Paul just rolled his eyes.

"Hey Liam, would you like to have dinner with me?" Paul asked.

"I would love to, but I left Devon at Gabi's place. Raincheck?" Liam smiled.

"Sure. I will see you then!" Paul smiled, trying to hide his slight disappointment.

"Ok, I will see you then!" The blonde smiled as Paul walked off. Liam then take a look at his watch to see the time. "Oh, it's almost dinner! I got to go get Devon!" Liam remarked.

Seeing Liam about to walk off, Sonny grabbed his wrist and walked towards the park.

"Hey, where the hell are you taking me?" Liam barked.

"You'll see!" Sonny said.

It was not long before they arrived at the new Chez Rouge.

"And we have arrived!" Sonny said finally letting go of Liam's wrist.

"Where is this place? And you need to stop grabbing my wrists and pull me wherever you like!" Liam scowled massaging his wrist.

"If I don't drag you here, you wouldn't come with me." Sonny reckoned.

"Of course I wouldn't come. I have an infant waiting for me at Gabi's place." Liam stated the obvious. "Would you come if you had a child waiting for you? And why should I even be here?"

"We're here because you need to unwind." Sonny stated firmly. "It has been a long winding day for you and now it's time for you to relax." Sonny took out his cellphone and quickly texted.

 _ **To Gabi:**_

 _ **Hey! Liam and I will be going out tonight, will be back late. Take care of Devon!**_

"Who are you texting?" Liam questioned.

"Gabi, I told her to take care of Devon for a few more hours." Sonny replied. "You were worried about your son. So I asked her to take care of him for a few more hours. When I give you a day-off, you should spend your day relaxing. Not run around town being a saint and helping other people."

"And how is me spending my day-off any of your business?" Liam raised his eyebrow.

"You are my head chef, I don't want you turning up to work stressed up and tired." Sonny quickly gave an excuse. Sonny's phone vibrated in his hand and he opened the text message.

 _ **From Gabi:**_

 _ **As of today I'm charging babysitting fees! I had to change Devon's diapers!**_

"Gosh that's one angry Gabi!" Sonny shuddered at the thought of facing the music back home.

"Oh by the way, you are taking me to dinner, your treat!" Sonny insisted.

"Me? You're the one who brought me here!" Liam scoffed.

"After all the help I contributed to the carnival, shouldn't you be thanking me?" Sonny bounced both of his eyebrows.

"You sure got thick skin." Liam gave Sonny the side-eye. The blonde then looked at the entrance of Chez Rouge. "You still haven't answered me, why are we here?"

"Well, you posted a blog review of the food here the other day, I was wondering whether you show me some of their best foods here." Sonny suggested.

"Wait a minute, aren't you supposed to be at work? You mean today's your day off as well?" Liam vaguely remembered looking at Sonny's roster for the week.

"I'm the boss of La Strada. My restaurant, my rules." Sonny smirked at Liam as the latter huffed in disbelief.

"Rich kid living off his family business." Liam thought to himself as they both entered Chez Rouge.

"Hi! Table for two?" The waiter asked.

Before Liam could reply, Sonny quickly answered.

"I actually made a reservation for two, a room to be exact." Sonny replied.

"Let me see," The waiter flipped through the pages, "Sonny Kiriakis?" The waiter asked.

"Yeap, that will be me!" The brunette nodded.

"This way please." The waiter directed them as they followed him.

The two walked into a private room with a table in the middle of the room. On the table were two red candles lit up and fancy china and multiple sets of forks, spoons and glasses on the table.

Liam looked around the dimly-lit room where he was sitting in. There was slow jazz music in the background with a strong scent of strawberry in the air. He then heard a pop sound coming from opposite him. He saw Sonny using the corkscrew to open the bottle of red wine.

"Now this is what you should do on your day off." Sonny advised. "You spent the morning taking care of Paul, then help Arianna out with baking cookies and planned the carnival. It's time for you to take a break." Sonny poured the red wine into Liam's glass.

"This is a pretty nice room. I've been to this restaurant once," Liam confessed, "but I have never seen this private room before."

"That's because this room is only for VIPs like me!" Sonny bragged. "My Great-aunt Maggie owns the restaurant! But I haven't been here in ages. I saw your blog review of this place, makes me wanna eat something different from my regular here."

"This place is expensive, you want me to treat you dinner at this place?" Liam huffed.

"Relax, didn't I say my Aunt Maggie owns the place, you needn't pay a cent!" Sonny assured. "By the way, how did you pay for the last meal here?" Sonny questioned.

"I was doing a blog review of this place? Food critics get to eat for free." Liam stated, still feeling weird at how romantic the atmosphere is. "Um, may I ask why did you book a room here? Wouldn't it be fine if we just eat outside?" Liam wondered.

"Outside is too noisy, I like my privacy." Sonny replied while looking at the menu. "Besides, the first time we met, you complained that I made you cook our meal, so now I'm taking you to a nice place where the food's being cooked for us."

"You have sure improved since then." Liam joked.

"And you are just as clueless as Will!" Sonny thought to himself.

* * *

Chad DiMera was on the flight home as he recalled the events that occurred five and a half years back.

" _Oh my goodness, Will!" Chad began sobbing uncontrollably as he saw the blonde's body on the desk in the morgue. "I'm so sorry, Will. I'm so sorry I couldn't save you in time. I'm sorry Clyde did this to you!"_

 _Just then a sudden realization hit him._

" _Clyde is now being detained, there's no way he could have done this to Will." Chad ruled out the option. "That means, it must be…" Chad immediately ran out of the morgue towards the DiMera Mansion._

 _XXXXXXXXXXX_

" _Father, Father?" Chad yelled when he entered the living room._

" _Chad, why are you yelling at this time of the night?" a wheelchair-bound Stefano barked_

" _Will's dead, Father and I think I know who did it." Chad stated._

" _Who?" Stefano asked._

" _I think I have an idea. But can you please find a way to revive Will?" Chad pleaded. "I'm willing to get down on my knees if you want me to." Chad said as he was about to kneel down._

" _No need for that my son." Stefano said. "All you need to do is to do what your heart desires. Win Abigail Deveraux back from Ben Weston, would you do that?"_

" _I will win Abby back, I will make sure that land is still part of the DiMeras if need be." Chad promised._

 _Stefano was surprised at his son's reaction and how willing he was after days and hours of convincing him. Judging from Chad's desperate plea, Stefano could tell his son was telling the truth._

" _Very well then, I believe you." Stefano took out his cellphone from the pocket of his suit and started dialing scrolling through his phonebook._

" _Dr Mandrake!" Stefano laughed. "I heard you are in Salem! I would like you to do something for me!"_

"Thomas Jack DiMera! You stay right there! Stop running around the plane!" Abby yelled as she was chasing their son around the plane. Little TJ quickly ran towards his father's arms.

Chad quickly stood up from his chair, caught his son, and lifted him up in the air.

"Daddy! Mommy wants me to eat veggies!" TJ whined.

"TJ, Mommy is right. You need to eat your veggies to become strong." Chad gently told him.

"But it's yucky!" TJ groaned.

"If you eat your veggies, I will give you more chocolate!" Chad enticed.

"Chocolate yay!" TJ exclaimed.

"But you must first eat your veggies." Chad gave him the condition.

"Ok!" TJ happily answered as he ran back to his seat.

"TJ don't run about!" Abigail chided before turning to Chad. "Look at you! Always spoiling him with sweets! He needs to learn that life isn't always about the rewards." Abby glared at her husband.

"Don't worry, babe!" Chad walked behind Abigail and grabbed her by the waist. "He's a growing boy. We need to take it slow."

* * *

Sonny and Liam had a hearty meal at Chez Rouge. They had a few laughs and savoured the red wine with great delight.

"I gotta say, this is some great wine!" Will appreciated.

"This is Dal Forno, Valpolicella – 2007. Probably one of the best red wines Chez Rouge has ever had." Sonny then called the waiter to enter.

"Excuse me, but can you help us take a photo?" Sonny asked the waiter.

"Sure, may I have your phone?" The waiter offered his hand.

Seeing Liam's phone on the table, he quickly unlocked it and looked for the camera app before passing it to the waiter.

"Why are you using my phone?" Liam raised his eyebrow.

"You'll see! Now raise your glass and smile for the camera!" Sonny ordered.

Liam, totally clueless, self-consciously smiled at the camera as the two raised their glasses up.

After a few snapshots, Sonny quickly took Liam's phone before the blonde could take it back. Liam saw Sonny fiddling with the phone before asking.

"What are you doing?" Liam questioned.

"You'll see!" Sonny gave a devilish grin.

A few minutes later, Sonny finished up what he was doing on Liam's phone as he returned the phone.

"Here you go!" Sonny said as he passed Liam the phone across the table.

"What did you do on my phone?" Liam wondered as he took his phone.

As he unlocked his phone, he saw the photo which was taken earlier being posted on instagram.

"Here's to romantic dinners with red wine! Hashtag dinner, hashtag romance, hashtag dinner date." Liam read out loud. He then raised his head and stared at Sonny, on the verge of bursting into a big smile. "Bae, really? Since when were we on a date?"

"Since I chose you to be my date." Sonny pointed at the blonde.

Liam narrowed his eyes light-heartedly, before laughing. "You're a mystery Jackson Kiriakis!"

"Paul got an entire blog post dedicated to him, a photo of me on your instagram is the least you could do!" Sonny thought in his head.

"Ooh! This is one of my favourite songs ever!" Liam's eyes lit up when the piano background music started playing.

"What song is it?" Sonny asked.

"Are you kidding? How can you not the most iconic R&B wedding song of the 2010s?" The blonde asked in disbelief.

 _What would I do without your smart mouth  
Drawing me in, and you kicking me out  
Got my head spinning, no kidding, I can't pin you down_

"Oh! 'All of Me' by John Legend" Sonny realized when he heard the baritone singing the first verse.

"You know, Tameka and I danced to this song for our wedding." Liam stated with a wistful smile. "Good times indeed." Liam's smile started to fade off as he picked up his glass and took a sip of red wine.

The brunette saw the expression on Liam's face. Liam's eyes began to shine bright as tears began to well up.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't be talking about unhappy stuff." Liam gave an embarrassed laugh.

Sonny smiled as he put down his napkin on the table, stood up, walked towards Liam and offered his hand.

"Would you care to dance?" Sonny asked the blonde before him.

Liam looked away and laughed slightly, feeling second-hand embarrassment for Sonny. "Seriously, you are asking a straight man to dance with you? Aren't you afraid of getting rejected?"

"Come on, please?" Sonny tried to give his best puppy eyes.

Liam rolled his eyes and looked away from Sonny. A few seconds later, he finally relented and gave his hand to Sonny. The two walked away from table as Sonny placed one hand on Liam's waist and the other on Liam's left hand.

 _'Cause all of me  
Loves all of you  
Love your curves and all your edges  
All your perfect imperfections  
Give your all to me  
I'll give my all to you  
You're my end and my beginning  
Even when I lose I'm winning  
'Cause I give you all, all of me  
And you give me all, all of you_

Sonny began looking Liam as the blonde was concentrating on following every one of Sonny's movement. Liam then accidentally stepped on Sonny's shoe.

"Oh I'm sorry." The blonde apologized, "I haven't slow danced in ages."

"Don't worry about it, just relax." Sonny assured.

 _Cards on the table, we're both showing hearts  
Risking it all, though it's hard _

Sonny continued staring at Liam began getting the hang of it. Liam began smiling realizing that he was synchronized with Sonny.

"Gosh he's cute!" Sonny thought looking at how the blonde smile.

"I'm getting the hang of it!" Liam stated with joy. He then look up, accidentally colliding his nose with Sonny as the song ended. Their lips and eyes were only a few inches were away.

Liam cluelessly looked into the brunette's brown eyes. He didn't know why Sonny was staring at him so intently.

Sonny slowly lean his head in as he tried to meet his lips with Liam's. However, Liam turned away and Sonny's lips landed on his cheek.

"I think we should stop dancing." Liam suggested nervously.

Sonny was disappointed; he balked at the thought of Will Horton or anyone that looks like him denying him. Aside from their first kiss, Will has never denied him, ever.

Sonny walked away from Liam and walked towards the wall of the room. He began punching the walls with both of his fists grunting at the pain he felt in his knuckles.

Seeing the brunette in a depressed state, Liam quickly ran towards him.

"Hey hey Kiriakis! Stop doing that." Liam quickly grabbed both of Sonny's wrists to stop him.

Sonny roughly threw Liam's hands down, turned around and grabbed his shoulders.

"From the moment I saw you, I thought you were Will." Sonny raised his voice. "Up till today, that thought has not changed one bit." Sonny placed one hand on Liam's face. "I must be crazy right?" Sonny laughed to himself as tears ran down his cheeks.

Liam, looking worried felt completely helpless. If he could change his looks, he would to make Sonny feel better. He felt Sonny's heartache, but there was nothing he could do.

"I'm sorry, there's nothing I can do to help you." Liam sympathized. "If there's anything I can help you with to lessen the pain in your heart…" Liam trailed off as he did not know what to say next.

Sonny then thought of the other day at the market where they hugged. He then look at Liam in the eye before making his bold request.

"Is it ok if I hug you whenever I'm thinking of Will?" Sonny seeked the blonde's mission.

Liam stood still for a few seconds, as he thought about his request.

"Of course you may" Liam answered warmly and he opened his arms letting the brunette embrace him fiercely. "Whoa, ok!" Liam said, feeling startled.

* * *

JJ and Gabi were watching TV, waiting for Sonny and Liam to return.

"When Sonny and Liam return, I will show you how easy it would be to get a sample of his DNA. You won't need to use your model friends anymore." JJ assured.

"Yeah, as if you and Liam would have anything in common. Aside from his culinary skills, the guy pretty much takes care of his child." Gabi quickly shot JJ down.

JJ and Gabi both heard the unlocking of the entrance door and saw both Sonny and Liam entering the apartment.

"Hey you guys are back! Where have you been?" Gabi greeted.

"Oh, we went to have dinner at Chez Rouge." Liam smiled.

"Hey Liam, I've made some hot chocolate and I need your expertise and taste buds to judge how good this is!" JJ waved his hand to come forward.

"Thanks but no thanks, I will try some another time. It's getting late, I need to go. He saw Devon on the armchair, picked up the baby carrier beside him, wore it and strapped him up before taking the bag of diapers and milk bottles and said his goodbyes.

"Well, I'm going to bed. Goodnight guys!" Sonny said before walking into his room.

Gabi, with a huge smile on her face looked at JJ before bursting into laughter.

"You're a cop and you can't even get someone's DNA!" Gabi chortled.

JJ frowned and folded his arms.

"It's just bad timing and it's late at night! I'll show you I'm able to get his DNA!" JJ scoffed.

* * *

A/N: Ok, so that's it! Tell me what do y'all think! Pls R&R! :D

I hope this was a good WilSon moment for you guys as I felt I added too many Horita moments. I thought a balance would be good. I'm not much of a PaulSon fan but I will do my best to add in some PaulSon moments! :P


	16. Chapter 16: Dunk Tank

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

It was the day of the carnival. Sponsors were setting up booths all over the Salem Elementary. Men and women were seen carrying huge equipment from one corner of the school to the other.

Liam Robertson was excited about the carnival. Usually, taking part in a large event like this would not matter to him. However, on top of all the preparations he had to do such as ordering ingredients and what not, he had to practise a little for the cooking showcase. A few days before the carnival, Liam received a call from DiMera Enterprises that food critics will be present during the cooking showcase.

Liam was now pacing back and forth inside a classroom with his sous chef standing right before him. Liam's four minions were looked terrified as they stared on the ground. They understood the stress level their boss was facing, thus, they all just kept quiet. Lito did not even try to hold Leah's hand as he knew Liam hates mixing business with pleasure.

"Alright listen up people!" Liam hollered. "Just because this is just some carnival don't mean this is just child's play. This is no different from any other day at the restaurant!" Liam warned. "As a matter of fact, this is more important than other days at the restaurant! Food stands you guys will be manning will have the sign 'Robertson' on it. This means my name is on the line and failure is not an option. Is that understood?" Liam questioned loudly.

The four sous chef look at each other cluelessly, not knowing how to reply their superior.

"When I say is the that understood, you say 'Sir Yes Sir!' Is that understood?!" Liam repeated his question.

"Sir Yes Sir!" The four sous chef replied in unison.

"And you two!" Liam pointed two fingers with his right hand at Lito and Leah, "You guys will be working separately, you will not do any hanky-panky today. Especially when the food critics are here! Got it?"

"Sir yes Sir!" The couple replied, straightening their backs.

"Listen up guys! We are gladiators in whites and when we face difficulties we do not give up!" Liam gave them a pep talk. "If you wanna make it, you gotta put in the work!" Liam reminded them, "Everyone wants to be Jamie Oliver, but no one wants to put in the WORK! The chinese saying goes 'Musicians spend fifteen years practising to go on stage for their fifteen seconds of fame'. Today's the day we will shine!" Liam promised. "Now on to business."

"Lito, remember not to burn the baguettes and check it every five minutes before replacing it with another loaf, lower the heat if they are browning too quickly. Do not overcook the mushrooms as too much liquid will come out of the mushrooms making it too watery." Liam faced Lito.

"Got it boss!" Lito noted.

"George, you will be in charge of the pizza cups. This would be extremely popular among the kids so I need you to bake as many as you can in one tray. Sprinkle each wanton skin with a little water before putting tomato paste so that when the oven absorbs moisture the pastry would not be completely dry. This also helps prevent burning." Liam pointed at George.

"Noted Liam!" George replied.

"Kyla, you will prepare the mini calzones, have you prepared enough pizza dough?" Liam asked.

"Yes boss, in the fridge now." Kyla assured.

"Once the calzones are baked, remember to cut them into half. This will also be popular among the kids. I don't want the inside filing to scald their tongues." Liam explained. "Leah, you will be in charge of the mini quiches, it's only baking an egg for twenty minutes. It's impossible screw up on this one." The blonde chef faced the dark blonde.

"Aye-aye Sir!" Leah showed him an okay sign.

"Now that you know what to do, get your asses moving!" The blonde clapped twice as the sous chef left the classroom. He then turned around only to see the Asian baseball coach, leaning on the door frame with one leg crossing the other. The latter was wearing a tight tank top and board shorts.

Paul accidentally walked in on Liam briefing his chefs. This was the first time he actually saw the blonde in action. As Liam was instructing his sous chefs, Paul could not help but notice how well-defined his pectorals were as the white double-breasted jacket hugged them tightly. His eyes slowly went down to his waist. He gazed at the blonde's half-apron tied tightly on his waist accentuating his bottom. Together with Liam placing one hand on his waist, taking command of the situation, Paul gulped. He used every bit of his willpower not to pin him against the wall.

"Hey Paul! What are you doing here?" Liam greeted.

"Oh! I'm just here to see how you're doing?" Paul answered.

"Well to be honest, I'm a little nervous!" Liam scratched his head, laughing nervously. "DiMera Enterprises called and told me food critics will be present during the cooking showcase."

"Wow! That's pretty great!" Paul nodded his head, impressed.

"I just really hope that I won't become a laughing stock." Liam said worriedly.

"Hey! Remember what you told me? You fail not when you lose, but when you quit!" Paul reiterated what Liam said some time ago. "You're usually more confident and self-assured as compared to me. I'm sure you got this!"

"I hope they will love what I'm making." Liam hoped. The two were now walking along the corridors of the school as Paul saw his older sister and his niece walking from the opposite direction.

"Hey there little brother!" Belle greeted.

"Hey there sis! What are you doing here so early?" Paul wondered.

"I'm dropping Claire off!" Belle looked at Claire.

"Hey Uncle Paul! I wanna thank you so much for letting me perform at the carnival. As a musician, I want to gain as much exposure as possible!" Claire thanked.

"No problem, anything for my niece!" Paul smiled. "Besides, you are the one that is doing me a favour. We need to have some entertainment up in here!"

Belle intentionally cleared her throat. "Paul, would you like to introduce to us your friend here?"

"Oh yeah, I forgot. Liam, this is my sister Belle Black and her daughter, Claire Brady and guys, this is Liam Robertson, the head chef of La Strada in Hotel Titan." Paul introduced.

"Hi Liam, it's good to see you!" Belle offered her hand for a handshake.

"It's good to see you too!" Liam shook her hand. "Wait a minute," a realization struck him, "Your last name is Black but Paul's last name is Narita. You guys are half-siblings?" Liam questioned.

Paul and Belle looked at each awkwardly, they did not have a problem with their complicated family tree. They just did not like explaining it as it would take hours.

"Well," Paul laughed with slight embarrassment, "My name is actually Paul Black, if you check my driver's licence and my passport you will see it. Narita is the professional name" Paul explained succinctly, not wanting to get into the details.

"Oh I see!" Liam nod his head in acknowledgement before turning his head to Claire. "So Claire, you're a singer!"

"Yes, I am." Claire replied.

"What genres do you sing? Do you have a specific genre you're passionate about?" Liam wondered.

"Well, I love pop and country!" Claire replied.

"Um… sorry to interrupt but Paul, would it be ok if you and I have a word?" Belle asked in a stern tone.

"Sure, no problem." Paul was getting a little afraid. He followed Belle's lead as the two walked into a classroom and Belle closed the door.

"Ok, out with it." Belle looked at him, folding her arms.

"Out with what?" Paul shrugged his shoulders.

"Mom and Dad told me everything, you expect me not to know what's going on?" Belle rolled his eyes.

"I'm sorry sis but you need to be more specific." Paul said, getting annoyed.

"Why did you ask him to take part in the carnival?" Belle interrogated.

"Look sis, hold up!" Paul raised both of his hands. "It's the principal that wanted us to work together. Liam's taking charge of the food in the carnival."

"Then what about Sonny? Is Sonny ok with this?" Belle questioned.

"We are being put together, it's not like I have a choice or anything." Paul replied with frustrated.

"Look, all I know is that that person looks like Will from top to toe, and you and Sonny have been seeing each other for a while now. I don't want anything to come in between you two." Belle voiced out her worries. "You and Sonny have make so much progress, I do not want anything to come in between you two!"

"Liam is just a friend. Plus, the guy is straight!" Paul added to calm his sister down.

"He better be straight!" Belle warned. "Because Mom showed me the blog post of you two having dinner at Chez Rouge and then weeks later, Sonny and this guy is having another yet romantic dinner at the same place."

"That was a joke. Sonny knows Liam is straight." Paul defended. "Besides, that Instagram post is just a joke." Paul huffed.

"Everyone knows that you and Sonny are seeing each other. But from the way I see it, it seems you and Sonny are fighting over him now." Belle bluntly told him before placing an arm on Paul's shoulder. "You want Sonny, you love Sonny. Don't let a short-term infatuation destroy everything you had built."

* * *

"What do you mean by you cannot make it?" Claire raised her voice on her phone, "the performance is this afternoon!"

Liam stared at her pacing back and forth yelling through the phone.

"I can't believe this!" Claire growled.

"What's wrong?" Liam asked.

"My instrumentalist just backed out on me!" Claire groaned. "How am I supposed to find another instrumentalist in such a short time?"

"Don't worry, I think I know of someone." Liam assured.

* * *

JJ Deveraux was frustrated with himself. In between work and time with Gabi and Ari, He had spent the past few weeks trying to get any form of Liam Robertson's DNA. Be it a strand of hair or a drop of his blood. His first attempt involved a guy's night out at The Edge. He planned to get Liam drunk so that he could get his DNA. However, JJ ended up having one too many and Liam had to carry JJ back to Gabi's place.

JJ's second attempt involved asking Liam to teach him how to make croquetas, Arianna's favourite Spanish snack. JJ made sure he took out the forks and plates when Liam took the tray out of the oven so that the latter would not use his fingers and eat straight off the tray. When Liam went to the bathroom, JJ quickly took his fork with a glove and placed it into a Ziploc bag. However, an unfortunate incident occurred when he got home.

" _Hey honey you're home!" Jennifer greeted at the doorway._

" _Hey Mom! Do you mind hanging my jacket, I'm really tired." JJ said half-heartedly, exhausted from helping Liam wash up his cookware._

" _Sure!" Jennifer took her son's jacket as he went upstairs._

 _As Jennifer searched the coat closet for a hanger, she realized that JJ's coat was heavier than usual. She searched through the pocket to find a fork in a Ziploc bag._

" _JJ brought his fork but not his lunchbox home." Jennifer sighed thinking what a klutz his son was._

 _XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX_

" _Morning Mom!" JJ was running late for work. "I'm late I gotta go!" JJ took a cookie from the cookie jar and headed for the coat closet._

" _Don't forget to bring your lunchbox home today!" Jennifer reminded._

" _What lunchbox?" JJ said putting on the jacket._

" _You brought your fork home yesterday but you forgotten to bring back your lunchbox!" Jennifer clarified._

 _JJ's eyes widened, trying to reach for the Ziploc bag in his pocket. However, it was missing._

" _Mom, where did you put the fork?" JJ panicked._

" _You were so tired yesterday, I helped you washed the fork." Jennifer replied._

" _NO!" JJ screamed._

"Hey babe!" Gabi greeted JJ, snapping him out of his thoughts.

"Hey babe!" JJ gave Gabi a half-hearted kiss on her cheek looking disappointed.

Gabi noticed JJ's looking more annoyed than usual. "Babe, what's wrong?" Gabi asked.

"Nothing much, I'm so frustrated I couldn't get Liam's DNA. I'm a cop for crying out loud! What kind of cop am I if I can't get a strand of hair from him." JJ grumbled.

"It's ok babe! You're still great cop. Without you in Salem PD, my brother and Roman would be so lost!" Gabi comforted.

"Thanks babe!" JJ kissed Gabi's forehead. "Still, we're not any closer to finding out the truth about Liam."

"Don't worry about that!" Gabi assured. "One of my friends flew all the way from Paris to Chicago for a fashion show earlier this week. He reached Salem yesterday as I wanted to ask him for help! He will be coming to the carnival later."

Before Gabi could continue, JJ's phone rang.

"Speak of the devil." JJ remarked before answering the phone. "Hello?"

"Hey JJ, I'm so glad you picked up!"

"I heard from Gabi that you're a guitarist! Is that right?" Liam wanted to confirm.

"Yes, I am." JJ replied

"I need your help to be someone's instrumentalist."

* * *

It was a few minutes past noon. The school was now thronged with families and teachers as children ran about while adults were playing at the game booths.

Paul Narita was now sitting on the springboard. It was just five minutes before Sonny took over from him. Paul was bored as he had been dry for the past ninety minutes although ten people attempted to hit the bullseye. Just as Paul was happily thinking about getting away without a drop of water on him. A few of his baseball players from Salem High appeared in front of him.

"Hey Coach Narita!" A teenager in a tee and jeans greeted.

"Dante, good to see you here!" Paul greeted back.

"Well, Coach I'm right here to dunk you wet!" Dante gave a devilish grin, tossing a ball in the air repeatedly.

"Well well, you ingrate!" Paul insulted light-heartedly, "I trained you to be my pitcher and this is how you repay me?"

"Payback's a bitch for all the hell you gave us!" Dante threw his first ball, missing the first bullseye.

"Is that the best you could do?" Paul laughed, "After all these years of training you and you can't hit the bullseye."

The high-schooler then threw the ball with all his might as he hit the bullseye, pushing the lever, causing Paul to fall into the water tank.

Liam was behind the high-schoolers laughing at the bond Paul had with his players.

"Paul's really good with kids." Liam admired to himself.

Liam then saw Paul emerge from the dunk tank, flipping his hair backwards as he reached for the ladder, slowly walking down the stairs leading towards the dunk tank.

Liam could not help but notice Paul's biceps and water droplets rolling down his pectorals. Liam took in the sight of a shirtless Paul with his board shorts, stuck to his skin, highlighting his thick thighs.

Liam took in a big gulp.

* * *

Sonny was behind the dunk tank, getting ready for his turn on the dunk tank when he saw a shirtless Paul, completely drenched. Sonny was completely caught off-guard as he couldn't help but admired how good Paul looked, especially with his fringe laid completely back. However, as their eyes met, Sonny was completely lost for words.

Paul looked back at Sonny, he himself had no idea what to say. Especially since the day he blew up at Sonny.

" _What is this?" Paul showed the Instagram picture of Liam and Sonny together._

" _What do you mean by what is this?" Sonny replied with a question, "That's just two friends having dinner at Chez Rouge."_

" _Oh really? Two friends having dinner? Hashtag romance, hashtag dinner date? That does not sound like two friends having dinner." Paul argued back._

" _Oh come on! That was the ambience, it felt romantic so I added that hashtag!" Sonny defended._

" _So you were the one who wrote the description, I knew it!" Paul caught Sonny red-handed. "How can you write this and let everyone in the cyberworld which means anyone see that?"_

" _Gee Paul. The last time I checked, you asked me whether I was jealous of you for hanging with Liam or vice versa. I think you need to ask yourself that question especially when we are seeing each other!" Sonny yelled before stomping off._

Sonny and Paul had not talk to each other since the argument they had.

"Hey!" Paul greeted.

"Hey! How have you been?" Sonny asked.

"Feeling refreshed." Paul joked. He looked at Sonny wearing a tight tank top, and appreciated his lean built.

"Like what you see?" Sonny teased, knowing Paul was checking him out.

Paul laughed with a hint of nerves taking over him. "You know me too well!"

They both laughed a little, melting the tension between them. Sonny remembered the what his mother told him.

" _You got this good thing going on with Paul and I don't want you ruining it!" Adrienne cautioned_

"Hey! I wanna say I'm really sorry about the argument we had the last time." Sonny apologized, he knew that he still has feelings for Paul. Although letting Will down is something he cannot do, he also could not deny that he was falling back in love with Paul before Liam came to Salem.

"I'm sorry too, I shouldn't have reacted the way I did." Paul apologized as well, "I may have overreacted to a simple dinner." Paul also knew the chances of winning Liam's heart would be one in a million for the very obvious reason that the latter is straight. "Let's just forget about everything. Let's spend the night unwinding and you know have dinner or go to the pub?" Paul suggested.

"Yeah I would like that very much!" Sonny agreed. "So I will meet you later after the carnival ends?"

"Yeah, I will need to do some of the clearing up around here. Do you mind waiting?" Paul asked.

"Of course, do what you have to do!" Sonny assured.

"Ok I will see you later!" Sonny said walking out of the changing area to the dunk tank.

* * *

Sonny took a seat on the springboard, when he saw a certain chef walking towards the dunk tank.

"I would love to give it a try!" Liam approached the guy manning the water dunk and gave him a few carnival tickets. Liam then looked into Sonny's eyes with a devilish grin.

Sonny saw the satanic look into Liam's ocean blue eyes, they were filled with mischief laced with a hint of vengeance. Fear shot through Sonny as Liam tossed the tennis ball repeatedly into the air.

"Liam, you can back out now before it's too late!" Sonny warned sternly, putting up a front.

"And why would I back out, Stalker?" Liam asked sarcastically.

"You will regret this!" Sonny glared.

"This is payback for all the times you stalked me!" Liam threw his first ball, completely missing the bullseye.

"Two more shots to go!" The guy manning the booth informed.

"If I fall into the tank I swear you will pay!" Sonny squinted his eyes.

"Be quiet Kiriakis!" Liam laughed as he threw the second ball. The ball hit the bullseye, causing Sonny's heart to skip a beat. However, Liam did not throw with enough effort, hence he did not activate the lever of the springboard.

"Oh so close!" The guy manning the booth empathized. "One more shot, you can do this!"

Liam smirked as he focused on the bullseye, ignoring whatever Sonny was saying.

Liam recalled how the elementary school played baseball whenever he met Paul at baseball practice. Liam did his best impersonation of a baseball pitcher by swinging his arm backward before throwing the ball forward.

The ball hit the bullseye straight on, pushing the lever as Sonny fell into the dunk tank.

As he saw the brunette falling into the tank, Liam jumped for joy as he waved his fist frantically in the air.

Sonny climbed out of the dunk tank indignantly hearing Liam rejoice. However, as he turned head to see the blonde, his resentment evaporated. All he could think about was how silly the blonde looked waving his hands in the air jumping for joy. He could not help but be infatuated by the silly smile Liam had on his face. That absolutely made his heart melt.

"Gosh, does he have any idea how adorable he is?" Sonny mumbled to himself.

What Sonny did not know though was that Paul was standing at the other side of the dunk tank, thinking the exact same thing.

* * *

Liam was now helping out at his food stands, making sure that his four sidekicks will not screw him over in the situation that any food critic came over undercover.

"Hey Liam! There's someone looking for you!" One of La Strada's waiters called.

"Don't worry! I will be right over! George you know what to do!" Liam took off his half-apron before following the waiter into the school hallway.

"So who are we meeting Connor?" Liam asked.

"We are meeting the person who got you this cooking showcase. He's actually the vice-chairman of DiMera Enterprises." Connor replied as the two entered the classroom. They both saw a brunette standing in the classroom with a suit and hair all combed backwards as he turned around.

"Hi Liam Robertson! I have been waiting for you!" The brunette greeted.

"Liam, this is the guy that got you your cooking showcase. He told me to call you here!" Connor informed.

Liam squinted his eyes as he stared at the brunette for a few seconds.

"Have I seen this guy somewhere before?" Liam wondered to himself.

"Hi! I'm Chad DiMera, and I have been looking all over for you today!" The brunette offered his hand for a handshake.

Liam warily took the brunette's hand and shook it.

"It's nice to meet you Mr DiMera!" Liam smiled.

* * *

A/N: Sorry I haven't been updating at all! I have just moved to another country to further my studies. Furthermore, I have a new laptop. I promise I will update more often! I added a quote from 'Empire' and another quote from 'Scandal' here can you guess which is it? :P

PS. I'm annoyed that Paul has not met Belle up to this point! That's his sister for crying out loud!


	17. Chapter 17: Meet Greg

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

"It's nice meeting you too! You have really made a name for yourself across youtube and wordpress!" Chad complimented.

"Well, I'm just a simple guy with a few cameras. Trying to simplify cooking for everyone!" Liam shrugged his shoulders.

"And your cooking methods are effective, four hundred thousand subscribers on Youtube? I gotta say well done!"

"I would love for you to be part of DiMera Enterprises!" Chad said, "But only if you get a thumbs up from the food critics today." Chad then turn around towards a long table and pulled away the cloth covering some items. The blonde saw various forms of cookware on the table.

"DiMera Enterprises is launching our first line of crockery." Chad explained. "It would be obvious that our target audience would be the housewives. However, we do not just want housewives to buy our product. At this day and age, young adults are getting more and more interested in baking and cooking and all that stuff. And that's all thanks to the help of Youtube and Masterchef. Which is where you will enter into the picture."

"Me?" Liam raised an eyebrow.

"Show me your competence, prove to me your abilities." Chad challenged. "As you are still a rising star in the culinary world, my investors are still skeptical about placing their bets on you. Which is why I arranged the cooking showcase. If the critics love it, you will be the spokesperson for this line of cookware."

"I'm sorry you seem to have it twisted, what makes you think that I will accept this endorsement?" Liam, feeling rather amused, folded his arms. "Just because you want me don't mean I want you." Liam grabbed the frying pan off the table, "Since your investors don't want me, why don't you find someone else?"

"I don't know but I do see something in you. You're young, you have charisma and you know how to draw in viewers. I think you look good on our billboards." Chad confessed.

"I'm not some spokesperson who's willing to put my face on a product and not use it." Liam stated. "I'm someone who needs to believe in what I actually endorse for."

"Well try out the cookware for yourself then." Chad said. "I will give you a full set of cookware for a week. Go and try it out for yourself."

"You sound pretty convinced that I will accept your offer!" Liam gave a smirk.

"Oh I know you will!" Chad replied confidently!

* * *

 ** _It's too late, to catch me now_**

"Everybody give it up for Claire Brady!" The host announced as the crowd of college students cheered her and applauded. Claire bowed before walking off the stage.

"Wow! That was a really good performance!" Liam complimented backstage. "You really have a voice! You should join The Voice!"

"Why thank you!" Claire replied. "I would love to join The Voice but you know that reality TV is all about hype and controversy and not always about the talent. I'd rather make it big on my own, the long-hard way!"

Liam raised his left eyebrow as memories rushed through his head.

" _The problem with all these singing competitions is that they are all gimmicks." Tameka stated, "I want to be a real artist, a true musician. Not some sob story or pawn in a TV show."_

"I really have so much respect for a true artist like you. I've got nothing against contestants that join singing competitions but you know TV is messed up." Liam laughed. "By the way, I'm so bored in Salem and I realize there is no music scene here! I'm bored as hell!"

"You know, you can come by The Edge at 9 from Thursdays to Sundays. My band and I will be playing through the night!"

Pondering for a few seconds, Liam replied "Yeah, I would love to! I think I need some inspiration to get back to music!"

"You're a musician too?" Claire asked, feeling amused. "Seems that cooking isn't your only talent!"

"That's what four years of church choir do to you!" Liam laughed light-heartedly.

"Yo Liam! You're up!" Liam heard George calling him from afar before turning his face towards him.

"Looks like I'm up! Talk to you later!" Liam walked away as he went up the stage

* * *

"So Gabi, where is he?" JJ asked

"Well according to him he said he will be coming very soon." Gabi replied looking at her cellphone. She then looked up and around before finally spotting a tall man with burgundy hair in a white sweater highlighting his chest and black jeans.

"Over here!" Gabi raised her hand as the man turned over and walked towards her.

"Gabi, it's so nice to see you!" The man greeted Gabi with a warm hug.

"Well, it's so great to see you! It has been a crazy long while!" Gabi hugged back. "Anyway, I want to thank you coming all the way down here to this small town for me!"

"No big, after you save my modelling agency from getting booted out of Venice Fashion Week, it's the least I can do!" The man replied.

"JJ, I would like you to meet my friend, Greg Lee" Gabi introduced, "Greg and I go way back a few years when we were modelling together! He now owns a modelling agency himself!"

JJ looked at the model and noticed his brown Asian eyes, his yellow skin and the black-coloured roots of his hair, realizing his brown hair was dyed.

"So what's the reason you made me come all the way to this small town?" Greg asked.

"Well, I don't know how you do it but I have never seen someone make so many straight guys swing the other way." Gabi remarked.

"Gabi, they were never one hundred per cent straight in the first place." Greg laughed. "I choose my conquests wisely."

"Great, I need your help on verifying someone." Gabi stated.

"Well, so who's the guy?" Greg asked.

"He's right there on the stage" Gabi turned her head and Greg followed suit.

Greg saw the blonde chef on stage as he was tossing some chicken fillets in a frying pan. He noticed the chef tight grip on the frying pan. His eyes gradually shifted towards the blonde's wrist and lean bicep before gazing at his blonde hair and blue eyes.

"He's hot." Greg bit his lower lip. "Gabi, are you sure you trust me with this friend of yours?" Greg laughed.

"You're the only one whom I can think of that can do this!" Gabi stated. "I need you to flirt with him, seduce him, get him interested in you."

"But why do you need to do that?" Greg asked.

"I can't tell you the reason yet. I will let you know in time." Gabi assured Greg. "Will you do it for me?" Gabi pouted.

After a few seconds, Greg let his guard down. "Oh alright, but only because he's hot!"

"Thanks so much!" Gabi hugged Greg fiercely.

"Ok ok Gabi that's enough!" JJ quickly pulled Gabi away, feeling a little annoyed at Gabi throwing herself at another man.

* * *

"And that's a wrap!" Liam thought to himself. Proud that he finally got through a long day at the carnival. He was mostly elated with the amazing response from the critics. He didn't expect them to finish the entire frittata he made. As he was finding his sous chef, he heard someone yelling at the corner.

"How could you bail out on us for the quarter-finals? You are lucky that we barely won this round!" Liam saw Coach Hudson chiding Paul at one corner.

"Coach Hudson, the carnival is now over. I promise I will step up my game." Paul assured.

"You missed the quarter-finals. What kind of coach are you? The team is barely surviving and here you are not caring about them. You are already on the chopping block!" Coach Hudson emphasized before taking a deep breath to calm himself down. "Look I know this carnival is for a good cause but the team needs you right now. I need you right now! If we do not make it to the semi-finals, you're done."

"I understand Coach." Paul replied softly.

Liam witnessed the entire conversation. He wanted to approach Paul to comfort him but on second thought, he decided to give Paul some alone time.

"Liam, there you are!" Liam heard Gabi's voice from behind him.

"Oh hey Gabi! What's up?" Liam asked.

"I was wondering after clearing everything up, would you like to go to The Spot with us? They are having a 20% off on drinks!" Gabi offered.

"I don't think I will be that comfortable in a gay club." Liam shook his head hesitantly.

"Oh come on! You are around Sonny and Paul daily, how does that not bother you?" Gabi wondered.

"That's because the first thing that comes to their mind when they see me is not trying to get into my pants! But when you hit the club, there will be people looking to score a good time!" The blonde explained.

"Gosh, could you be any more clueless? And I thought Liam and Will had nothing in common." Gabi thought to herself, trying not to roll her eyes.

"Come on it will be fun!" Gabi pleaded with both of her hands together

After a few seconds of pondering, Liam conceded, "Alright, I guess I can call the babysitter for a few more hours."

"Perfect! Oh, I have someone I would like you to meet!" Gabi ran backwards and pulled a man forward. "Liam, I would like you to meet my friend Greg Lee" Gabi introduced. "He and I go way back when we first started modelling and now he runs modelling agency in New York. He's here in Salem for vacation."

Liam noticed the tall Asian standing before him. He couldn't help himself but gave him a second glance.

"Hi!" Greg smiled, "You were quite something on stage earlier on!"

"Well thanks!" Liam shrugged his shoulders.

"You know, I'm quite a baker myself!" Greg continued, "I actually have a passion for baking and cooking."

"Oh really? What do you like to bake?" Liam asked.

JJ was now standing beside Gabi. He looked at the two men talking and laughing.

"Are you sure about this?" JJ asked hesitantly.

"Relax, if Liam is attracted to Greg, that's one step closer to confirming he is Will. If he isn't attracted to Greg, we can rule out this possibility!" Gabi assured.

"He's incredibly good-looking, are you sure Sonny or Paul wold not get jealous?" JJ asked.

"I don't have time to even think about that. Look at Greg, is the perfect combination of Sonny and Paul, a supermodel and a very successful entrepreneur who apparently loves rock-climbing and cooking. Oh and he's Asian too!" Gabi added. "He is the perfect formula!"

* * *

"Hey Paul!" Sonny greeted.

"Hey." Paul greeted distractedly. He was still feeling down from the conversation he had with Coach Hudson earlier.

"Are you ready for dinner?" Sonny asked.

"Yeah… let's go" Paul responded hastily. Before Paul took another step, Sonny stopped him.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Sonny asked.

"What do you mean by what's wrong?"

"Come on, you expect me to not know what's wrong?" Sonny gave a blank stare. "Out with it!"

"It's just the semi-finals at Salem High will be coming soon. Feeling a little stressed out." Paul sighed.

"After so much preparation for the carnival. He should give you a break! Why is he so harsh on you?" Sonny raised his voice, feeling indignant for Paul.

"He has every right to be angry. I should be on my A game with the team and I'm not." Paul defended. "I'm supposed to be there for the team and I'm not." Paul sighed.

"Hey!" Sonny placed his hand over Paul's shoulder, "You have pulled off an amazing carnival today! I think that calls for a celebration don't you think?"

Paul turned his head to look at Sonny.

"Oh come on! Think about it this way, the carnival is over, you now have more time for the team." Sonny patted Paul's shoulder. "Come on, The Spot is having a 20% off drinks and two-for-one meals!" Sonny pushed Paul with his arm over Paul's shoulder as they headed towards the club.

* * *

"I gotta say I love my mom's food the best." Greg laughed, "There's nothing better than my mom's Chinese cooking. I love her sweet and sour pork and dumplings!"

"Oh! I absolutely LOVE Chinese food! Chinatown is actually my favourite place in New York!" Liam exclaimed excitedly. "It has all my favourite spices there. I love star anise and Chinese five-spice powder!"

Gabi and JJ were looking at the two men chatting away happily from the other end of the circular couch they were sitting on.

"They seem to be getting along quite well!" Gabi said, feeling really proud of herself.

"Well, this may not rule out the possibility that he realized late in life that he is gay!" JJ said sceptically.

"Oh come on, Liam looks like Will and just so happens to be gay as well? I'm not buying that. Gabi ruled out the possibility.

"Excuse me!" Gabi waved her hand at them. "We are still here! You seem to have forgotten about us."

"Sorry Gabriella" Liam apologized, "We got so carried away with culinary and food."

"Let's not forget about New York too!" Greg interjected.

* * *

"Boy it sure is crowded tonight!" Sonny remarked at the number of men in the club.

"And it took us half an hour for us to get in!" Paul looked around surprised to have spotted Gabi and JJ inside the club.

"What's Gabi and JJ doing in here?" Paul walked towards the couch and Sonny followed.

"Gabi, JJ! What are you guys doing here?" Paul asked.

"Oh hey Paul!" Gabi greeted casually. JJ on the other hand, froze when he saw Paul.

"Hey Paul! Hey Kiriakis!" Sonny and Paul heard a voice behind them, only to see the blonde chef smiling away with a very charming man beside him.

Sonny and Paul were both in shock to see the blonde in a gay nightclub of all places

"Liam! What are you doing here?" Sonny asked, trying to hide the discomfort of him sitting in a gay bar.

"They were having a discount on drinks and I'm all about great offers!" Liam and Greg both picked up their drinks and cling the glasses.

"Gabi! Do you know how dangerous this place is? How could you bring Liam here?" Paul glared at the black-haired lady.

"Oh for God's sake Paul, you think I didn't think about that? Why did you think I brought someone else to accompany him?" Gabi rolled his eyes.

"Now that's the jealous Paul we all know!" Gabi thought to herself.

"Hi! I'm Greg!" Greg stood up and offered his hand for a handshake.

Sonny and Paul both gave a reluctant smile as they shook Greg's hand.

"Well, what do we do now?" JJ asked Gabi, eyes remaining on Sonny and Paul.

"We'll just have to see…" Gabi replied before sipping her glass of wine.

* * *

"So Greg, what exactly do you do for a living?" Sonny asked.

"I used to be a supermodel, now I'm running my own modelling agency!" Greg replied. "It's a small business but hey I get by!"

"Small business?" Gabi interjected, "Your modelling agency is one of the top agencies in New York! Let's not forget how many of your models actually made it to fashion week! Oh and guess what Sonny, Greg's been named Entrepreneur of the year under 30 by the New York Times last year"

"Oh stop it Gabi! You're embarrassing Greg!" Liam laughed.

"You run a modelling agency? So what? I have run casinos and I run a club here in Salem all under the age of 25. Where's my award?" Sonny thought angrily to himself before realizing a mistake. "Oh alright so Club TBD tanked but hey I revived the nightlife in Paris!"

"Show off" Paul thought to himself.

Calling the atmosphere awkward was an understatement, Sonny and Paul barely exchanged a few sentences. Gabi and JJ nodded and agreed whenever Liam or Greg asked a question. The only two who were oblivious to their surroundings were Liam and Greg, happily chatting away about New York.

"You know I believe there's nothing better than Chinese food! And I don't mean Chinese takeout, like actual Chinese food!" Greg stated. "I mean there is such a wide variety of Chinese cuisine to choose from!"

"I mean, in Taiwan there's oyster noodles which I absolutely adore. I absolutely adore Dim Sum especially Egg Tarts! Egg tart is actually my favourite Chinese dessert." Liam rambled on about his favourite Chinese cuisine as Sonny and Paul glared uncomfortably.

"Chinese food? Please! Chinese food's got nothing on Japanese food!" Paul scoffed as he thought to himself.

"You know what's better than Chinese food?" Paul interrupted, "Japanese food! I mean there's nothing better than salmon sushi!"

"Salmon sushi? Really?" Greg laughed. "All you need to make salmon sushi is raw salmon. There's nothing about cooking in there!" Liam could not help but break into laughter.

"Oh Greg! You are absolutely hilarious!" Liam slapped Greg's shoulder lightly.

Gabi couldn't help but burst out in laughter with Liam!

* * *

Greg slowly slipped his hand onto Liam's lap and it obviously did not go unnoticed by Sonny and Paul. While Sonny tried to gain his composure, the Japanese baseball coach shot a death stare at the Chinese former supermodel. The latter responded with a smirk on his face before turning back to look at Liam.

"Tu as de beaux yeux." Greg confessed in French.

"Merci beaucoup, Je me sens flatté." Liam laughed once more, "I thank my mom for that!" before Liam could continue, his cellphone vibrated.

"Is anything the matter?" Greg asked.

"It's just the babysitter, she's telling me my son's got a skin rash." Liam stated. "Look I would love to hang here but I think I need to go!" Liam placed his cellphone back into the pocket as Gabi returned from the restroom. "Hey guys, I would love to stay but my son needs me!" Liam then turns to Greg, "You know maybe one day you should come over to my crib and maybe we can exchange Chinese cooking recipes."

Greg looked at Paul and realized that Sonny sitting beside Paul was also staring at him uncomfortably.

"It's a date!" Greg turned back to Liam and agreed.

"Ok guys! I gotta go now!" Liam waved his hand and said his goodbyes.

* * *

Once Liam finished applying cream on Devon's rashes, he washed his hands and face as he thought about the lovely time he had with Greg.

" _Tu as de beaux yeux." Greg confessed in French._

" _Merci beaucoup,_ _Je me sens flatté._ _" Liam laughed once more._

"Greg said that I had beautiful eyes." Liam pondered to himself. "Is he interested in me? Nah… what are the chances? Hanging out with Paul and Kiriakis make me think that everyone has an awful gaydar." The blonde laughed. "There's no way he was trying to flirt in French." As Liam ruled out that possibility, another thought suddenly came to his mind.

"Je peux parler français?" Liam wondered out loud.

* * *

A/N: Sorry it took so long to update! I have multiple projects I have to do so I'm quite stressed out! I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Only two or three more chapters to the BIG REVELATION! STAY TUNED! :D

Please R&R! Tell me what you think! :D

Oh the last line by Liam is "I can speak french?"


	18. Chapter 18: Meet my parents

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN 

Chad DiMera was sitting in his bedroom, staring blankly at the ceiling. Thoughts were running through his head, recalling the hectic incidents that occurred five years ago.

" _You want to what?" Chad asked in shock._

" _I'm a gynaecologist, it's my field of expertise." Dr Mandrake stated bluntly, "How else was I able to steal Theresa Donovan's embryo?"_

" _But this is insane!" Chad worried, "You are going to operate on his body and implant a…" Dr Mandrake cut him off before he could continue._

" _I know the risks of this operation is extremely high, but we are talking about a human life here!" Dr Mandrake urged. "The question is do you want him back alive?"_

 _Chad was in a dilemma, "If he really comes back to life, will he be able to live like a normal person? Will he be able to handle the truth about how he's brought back to life?" Chad wondered to himself._

" _How am I supposed to explain it to him? That there may be a mutated lump growing in his tummy in exchange for getting his life back?" Chad shot a frantic look at Dr Mandrake._

" _Relax Chad." Dr Mandrake walked towards Chad and placed his hand on Chad's shoulder. "What he doesn't know would not hurt him. This is what's best for Will. If there were any other way I would have chosen that instead."_

 _Chad slowly shut his eyes, he knew that there was no other way to get Will back. Dr Mandrake was the only doctor his father was able to get in such short notice._

" _Do it." Chad reluctantly spat out his consent._

"Chad, Chad?" Chad felt the patting of his shoulders as he turned his head to see his wife.

"Morning Abby." Chad greeted before pulling his head forward and kissed his wife's forehead.

"What are you thinking about?" Abigail asked.

"I'm just thinking about business. Sonny and I are planning to sell Club TBD, but no one seems to be interested in purchasing the club." Chad sighed, expressing his disappointment.

"Have you ever consider just leasing the club out?" Abigail suggested. "Some people are unable to afford to buy a club but I do know there are plenty of entrepreneurs trying to start-up businesses."

"I have actually thought about that." Chad stated, "Which is why I'm going to talk to him about this today." Chad turned towards with a cheeky grin. "But now, I would like to spend some quality time with my wife!" Chad leaned his face to kiss his wife before making his way down to her neck.

"You know," Abigail giggled, "Thomas is going to wake up anytime soon!"

"Guess we have to make it quick then!" Chad quickly untie the lace on the chest of his wife's nightgown.

* * *

Liam Robertson was getting more and more freaked out over what is happening to him the past few weeks. First, he understood deep abstract thoughts of literature which he had never read in his entire life. As he passed by the book store the other day, he happened to look through a 'The Complete Idiot's Guide to Speaking French' only to realize that he did not have much difficulty understanding the language. The closest thing the blonde understood about France is goose liver, and that did not require him to learn the language.

"How the hell do I even know the story 'Twelfth Night'?" I have never even read Shakespeare before! Wait is that written by Shakespeare?" Multiple thoughts were running through Liam's head and he walked out of the elevator towards the reception.

"And Let's not forget those visions and weird dreams I have about that baby girl." Liam mumbled to himself.

"Hi Sir, how may I help you?" The receptionist asked.

"Yes, I have a psychiatric appointment with Dr Evans around noon today?" Liam passed his driver's licence to the receptionist as the latter searched for his details.

"Liam Robertson?" The receptionist asked.

"Yes?" Liam replied.

"It seems that you have been transferred to Dr Barlon." The nurse read Liam's details from the computer screen.

Liam raised his eyebrows.

* * *

Gabi, JJ and Arianna were looking and putting photos taken at the carnival into the photo albums.

"Oh Ari! That's how you won the plushie!" Gabi realized, "I didn't know you got that from a tossing the rings."

"That's because you were too interested in matchmaking!" JJ joked while looking through the other photo albums. "Gosh! These photos albums are sure dusty." JJ complained when some flew into his right eye.

"That's because we have not touched them in years!" Gabi explained.

Arianna looked at an old photo album across the coffee table. Out of curiosity she stretched over and picked the dark blue photo album up. "I haven't seen this photo album in a long time!" The girl exclaimed. She quickly opened the photo albums seeing baby photos of her. "Wow! Mom these photos are me when I was little!"

"Yes mi hija, I can't believe I have not seen this photo album in ages!" Gabi exclaimed. Gabi took the book from Arianna's lap and placed it between their laps. "Oh look there's you and Daddy Sonny playing at the beach." When they flipped the page, a certain blonde man, a very familiar man who has blue eyes so similar to hers.

"Who is that?" Arianna pointed at the man in the photo.

When Gabi saw who her daughter was pointing at, she and JJ both shared a look. Both did not know what or how to tell Arianna.

"Is that… Dad?" Arianna wondered.

Gabi placed her arm over Arianna's back. "Yes, mi hijia, he is."

Arianna stared intensely at the photo she had not looked at since her early elementary school days. She had seen the photos multiple times years back but a sudden realization hit her.

"He looks a little like Liam." Arianna remarked.

Gabi and JJ shared a look once more, both absolutely clueless on how to reply to Arianna once more.

* * *

"So, Liam. You said you lost your memory a few years back. Do you think this plays a part in acquiring the unknown skills and strange dreams that you have as of late?" Dr Barlon questioned.

"Frankly speaking," Liam sighed, "I'm truly not sure, it's been five years since I lost my memory. I cannot remember exactly what had happened."

"Well, do you want to go remember who you used to be?" Dr Barlon asked.

"I don't really mind not knowing about my past, but I want to know how did I manage to acquire skills which I have never even learn in the first place. And those dreams of that little girl, I want to know the reason."

"So you think that has to do with your past." Dr Barlon questioned.

"Yeah, I guess." Liam shrugged his shoulders.

"Here, why don't I prescribe you some sleeping pills tonight. You know to make sure you sleep more soundly. But for now, I would like you to dig deep into your memories and try to remember what is your first memory when you woke up." Dr Barlon stated.

* * *

"Hey Chad! It's been a long time!" Sonny greeted Chad in the centre of Horton Town Square with a warm embrace.

"I have missed my partner in crime!" Chad laughed, hugging him back. "So I heard that even selling the Club is also very big issue."

"I'm not gonna lie and say that it has been ok because it's not." Sonny sighed. "Every month the club remains unsold, the upkeep and maintenance cost still keeps coming in."

"Relax, we will still get through this together!" Chad patted his shoulder. "So let's get down to business!"

Liam Robertson was now walking through Horton Town Square contemplating about his visit to the hospital. He could not shake the feeling about trying to remember his past. "The thing is, am I ready to know about my past?" Liam thought to himself. He then heard his cellphone vibrating through his pants, he took it out of his pocket.

 _ **From: Tamela**_

 _ **Yo Liam! We are on our way to your place right now, be there in half an hour!**_

"Oh crap!" Liam exclaimed in the middle of nowhere, he had completely forgotten that his parents-in-law are coming to visit him in Salem. Liam quickly place the phone back into his pocket when he heard someone calling him.

"Liam!" The blonde saw Sonny running towards him. "What are you doing here?"

"Just on my way home to the hospital." Liam casually replied.

"Why, what's wrong? Are you ill?" Sonny began asking worriedly, placing his hand on Liam's shoulder.

"Yeah, it's alright." Liam assured. He saw the man from DiMera Enterprises standing behind Sonny. "Mr DiMera, what are you doing here?"

"Oh please, call me Chad. I don't like it when we're so formal." Chad said, "I'm actually here having a catch-up session with Sonny!"

"Oh you two know each other?" Liam asked, surprised.

"You've been living in Salem for months now. Don't you know it's a small town?" Chad laughed, "Sonny is actually one of my best friends."

"Oooh" Liam nodded his head in acknowledgement.

"You wanna have lunch with us?" Sonny offered.

"Nah… I gotta go meet my parents!" Liam declined.

"What? Your parents are in town?" Sonny asked.

"Yeah, can't talk now. Gotta run!" Liam waved goodbye before walking away.

* * *

"So glad that both of you can make time to come all the way to Salem!"

"Are you kidding me? It has been months since we last saw our grandbaby! It would be a sin to just forsake him! Oh yes it is!" Tamela replied giving a slight neck roll. "Besides, Ernest and I needa see how my baby have been doing? All that stress must not been doing you no good!"

"Exactly Li, did you know that Tamela worries about you and Devon all the time! She couldn't even sleep because she was too excited to see you two!" Ernest interjected.

When the three entered into the apartment, Tamela placed all her luggage on the floor and cupped the blonde's cheeks. "You have lost so much weight!" Tamela chided, "Just cos you cook for other people don't mean you can't cook for yourself! Has your boss been mistreating you?"

"I don't know what you're talking about Tamela! I've been fine." Liam assured.

"No, you've not been okay!" Tamela interrupted "I'm ain't gonna let no child of mine end up being bones and skin. I'm going to the grocery store and tonight I'm gonna whipped up some of Mama Trina's special meatloaf and some good'ol mac and cheese!"

"Sure you guys should unpack first! Then I will bring you guys to the grocery store." Liam told them.

* * *

Marlena was walking into the staff lounge when she saw her fellow colleague making some coffee.

"Dr Barlon! It's good to see you!" Marlena greeted.

"Hey Dr Evans!" Dr Barlon greeted back.

"I really appreciate you accepting the referral considering how many patients you have right now." Marlena thanked.

"No big, I actually have some patients that have recovered fully! So when you referred Liam Robertson to me, it wasn't that big of a deal to me! In fact, he's only one of the seven main patients I have now." Dr Barlon assured casually. "Well, he is a peculiar case but you know I can't discuss this with you, patient's confidentiality. Would love to stay and chat with you but I got a patient in fifteen." Dr Barlon said his goodbyes before walking out of the staff lounge.

Noticing Dr Barlon dropped something from his white coat, Marlena yelled, "Dr Barlon! You dropped something." Bending down to pick it up, Marlena realized what was the item.

"This is a hypnosis pendant. Why does Dr Barlon have it?" Marlena wondered. Ever since the unfortunate incident of Chad getting kidnapped in the midst of hypnotism, Kayla has decided to ban the method from being used among psychiatrists.

"Is Dr Barlon secretly trying to help someone regain his memory?" Marlena thought.

* * *

"Thanks for bringing Allie and even Johnny and Sydney to see me!" Lucas said, walking along Horton Town Square with his ex-wife and the rest of her children.

"No problem!" Sami replied, "Besides, ever since EJ's been gone, you have been a great father figure to both Johnny and Sydney! Visiting us whenever you are in LA and even help Johnny fight back against bullies in school! They want to see you!"

"That's right Lucas!" Johnny interjected, "Allie and I do wish that you come to live in LA with us!"

"I will try to visit you guys more often when I have the time kid!" Lucas ruffled Johnny's hair.

As they were walking forward, they heard a loud noise coming from ahead of them. They saw the young man who looked like their son walking and chortling away with two middle-aged African-Americans.

Both being intrigued by the blonde's presence, Sami and Lucas quickly walked over and meet them.

"Hey Liam! It's so good to see you around!" Sami greeted.

Liam looked at them warily before smiling at them. "Ms. Brady, Mr Horton! It's good to see you!"

"Oh please, just call us Sami and Lucas!" Sami quickly corrected them. "It seems like you've got some friends here in Salem with you!"

"Yeah, these are my parents, they came all the way from New York!" Liam replied.

"Um, excuse me, I believe I heard wrongly." Lucas laughed hesitantly, "Did you say these two are your parents?"

"Yeah, these two are my parents!" The blonde man replied frankly.

"Hello, I'm Tamela! Liam's mama!"

"And I'm Ernest, Li's daddy! Good to see you!" The couple offered their hands to Sami and Lucas.

Sami and Lucas were dumbfounded, they stood there, eyes wide open and jaw dropped.

"Hello?" Tamela waved her hand, "What you staring at? Li, they look they just saw a ghost!"

"Um, sorry, I was just a little…" Lucas tried to find the words, "spaced out. Pardon me!" Lucas gave an embarrassed giggle.

"Not to be rude, but we really got to go! These grocery bags weigh like bricks and the baseball game is coming on in" Ernest turned his wrist to look at his watch, "In just about twenty minutes."

Just at the mention of baseball, Liam remembered the dressing down Paul received from Coach Hudson at the day of the carnival.

" _If we do not make it to the semi-finals, you're done." Coach Hudson reminded Paul_

"I need to see how Paul's doing." Liam thought to himself as his parents said goodbye to Sami and Lucas."

After putting down the groceries, Liam told his parents that he would be picking up Devon from daycare and went off to Salem High.

As he reached Salem High, he watched quickly took a seat on the bleachers and quietly observed the Salem Eagles at work.

* * *

Sami and Lucas quickly were now sitting down quietly in contemplation on the bench in the middle of the park. They were both puzzled and surprised at what or more specifically, who they saw at Horton Town Square.

"He said those are his parents." Lucas broke the silence.

"Yes, that's why I'm saying!" Sami burst out, "Unless science is so advanced, that person needs to start giving me a damn good explanation how both his parents are black!" Sami stood up and grabbed her handbag.

"Sami, Sami! Where do you think you're going?" Lucas quickly held her back.

"What do you think? To go get a damn good explanation as to why he lied to us!" Sami tried to take off once more.

"Now wait just a minute! I'm just as shocked as you are! But you can't go and confront them like this! It will make things worse!" Lucas raised his voice, hoping to knock some sense into Sami.

"I can't, if he is really Will, he needs to tell us! We are his parents for God's sake!" Sami argued.

"Yeah, and what's going to come out of it." Lucas retorted, "The only response we are probably going to get is Liam telling us we are completely insane before driving us out of his place with a broomstick."

"You're right, we need to think about it rationally." Sami sighed, letting her guard down before falling back onto the bench.

"Now, let's grab a cup of coffee and see how we are going to verify his identity." Lucas suggested.

* * *

After forty-five minutes sitting on the bleachers, Liam realized that Salem High's baseball team was nothing but a disastrous mess. From sloppy running, an awful first baseman and a batter whom missed almost every single hit.

"What the hell is wrong with you wimps today? I did not come here to train a bunch of losers!" Paul shouted.

Before Liam knew it, two of the baseball players were arguing and in a few seconds, they were shoving each other and throwing punches at one another.

"Hey hey hey cut it out!" One of the baseball players tried to break the fight.

"What the hell is wrong with you guys?" Paul yelled at them once more. "Whatever beef you have stays out of this baseball field!"

Liam gazed at Paul, he noticed the dark circles around his eyes and the paleness in his cheeks.

"Gosh, Paul must not have slept for days." Liam concluded.

* * *

Arianna is lying down on her bed pondering on what her mother and JJ said earlier.

" _Mi hijia, love is not as simple as you think it is." Arianna's mother tried to explain to her, "You see, when Liam came, both your Daddy Sonny and Paul were very shocked. Everyone did not know how Liam looked so much like your father."_

" _So does that mean that Daddy Sonny and Paul are not together because of Liam?" Arianna questioned._

 _JJ and Gabi stared at each other, both did not know how to answer Arianna._

" _For a seven-year-old, Arianna is sure asking all the right questions." Both thought._

" _Ari, sweetie" JJ moved Arianna closer to him on the sofa by the waist. "Adults are very complicated. Sometimes, we want to do what is right but it's not always easy." JJ began explaining, "Sometimes, what may look like it's the correct thing to do, may turn out wrong."_

" _So Daddy Sonny is afraid of hurting my father?" Arianna asked._

" _Well," Gabi pondered hoping she was saying the right thing, "You can say that."_

" _Is Liam actually Dad?" Ari asked another question._

" _No mi hjia, Liam is not your father, he just looks like your father." Gabi answered._

" _If Liam isn't Dad, that why can't Daddy Sonny and Paul together?" Arianna asked once more._

"Arianna, time for dinner!" Gabi called out.

"Coming!" Arianna replied, body still lying motionlessly on her bed.

Contemplating for a few more seconds, Arianna finally sat up as she has decided to become more proactive about her stepfather's happiness.

"I am going to make sure Daddy Sonny will be together with Paul and no one else!" She told herself.

* * *

Paul was now sitting all alone in the locker room. He could not believe that even after all his efforts, the baseball team was still below average. Both Coach Hudson and him screaming at the team did not help the situation at all. If anything, it added fuel to the fire.

"Knock knock." Paul heard a familiar voice. He looked up to see the blonde chef staring at him.

"Liam," Paul greeted, "What are you doing here?"

"I saw you at baseball practice earlier." Liam stated before taking a seat next to Paul.

"I didn't want anyone to see us today during practice." Paul said with an embarrassed look on his face.

"It's an open baseball field, it's a bit hard not to do so don't you think?" Liam remarked.

"I'm just so stressed about all of this." Paul groaned, "The team is in a mess!"

"Hey, hey! Don't get all worked up." The blonde placed his hand over Paul's shoulder, "You need to be strong for your team!"

"You don't get it!" Paul looked straight at Liam, "If the team has to make it to the semi-finals, if not I will lose my job."

"I understand that" Liam consoled

Paul's eyes widened, "Wait a minute, you knew about this? When did you know about this?"

"The other day at the carnival when I saw you getting screwed by Coach Hudson." Liam confessed.

Paul looked deep into Liam's blue eyes, it had been a long time since he let anyone see right through him.

* * *

Sonny just reached Salem High, he and Paul had made dinner plans at the Brady Pub.

"I did not know I would end up spending hours catching up with Chad." Sonny scolded himself as he made his way to the male locker room. As he was about to enter, he saw an extremely weary Paul, giving Liam Robertson a tight embrace.

Sonny hid outside the door as he tried to eavesdrop on the conversation.

"It's ok, it's ok." Liam consoled.

Looking at the two hugging once more, Sonny curled his hands tightly into a ball. A part of him wanted to be the shoulder Paul would lean on and the man Paul would pour out his sorrows to. The other part of him wanted to be man Liam was consoling. He wanted to be held in the blonde's warm embrace, telling him it's going to be alright.

"Ugh! I hate feeling this way!" Sonny grumbled inwardly before walking off.

* * *

A/N: Hey guys! So that's it for now! I really really want to update this once a week, but school has taken a toll on me so I will do my best to update this whenever I'm free.

Oh, don't take it personal if I don't reply to your reviews, I'm just very lazy to reply lol! :P

I promise I will reply more often from here on out! :D

For those who are asking about Greg, there will be Greg and more jealous Sonny and Paul in the chapters to come! :D

So what did you think about this chapter! Please REVIEW AND TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK! :D


	19. Chapter 19: Get him out of Salem!

A/N: So just a reminder, I'm not following the show's storyline and I wrote this BEFORE Theresa and Nicole split up with Kate. So in this story, Nicole, Theresa and Kate are still under one roof in Basic Black.

* * *

CHAPTER NINETEEN

" _Ari, we are bringing you to the beach today!" Liam was smiling as he was carrying the toddler in his arms, with the toddler's legs wrapped around his body._

Liam sat up on his bed with his eyes wide open. He knew he had some problems sleeping but he had woken up once again… after taking the sleeping pills he was prescribed with. He turned on the table light on the coffee table and picked up the bottle of pills to read the prescription.

"These are sleeping pills but they ain't working." Liam complained. Unable to go back to sleep he took the remote from the coffee table and turned on the TV. On the LCD screen, he saw a young African-American pitcher throwing a baseball across the field.

"Son of Mayor and rising baseball star Theo Carver has truly defied the odds. Once a shy boy, the twenty-three-old has overcome immense difficulties to get where he today." The commentator stated while showing the young man in action.

"Wait a minute, isn't he Ciara's boyfriend?" Liam muttered.

" _Hey! I'm Theo, Ciara's boyfriend." Theo introduced himself as he walked towards Liam for a handshake._

" _He will help me take care of Devon today!" Ciara informed._

" _Ok, just so you know dinner's in the oven. And I'm pretty cool with you guys babysitting as long as my baby is safe and you don't get nasty in my house!" Liam warned. "If you do, you're gonna wash my sheets and that's gonna come out of your pay understood?"_

" _Yes Sir" Ciara acknowledged._

"Who do you thank the most for helping you get to where you are today?" Liam watched the interviewer asking the young man.

"Let me see," Theo contemplated for a moment, "There are so many people to thank!" He laughed. "I have my dad who singlehandedly brought me up, my mom died when I was really young so my dad was all I had."

"Anyone else you would thank for where you are today?" The interviewer probed.

"Well, I would thank my sister, Lani for pushing and giving me the courage to venture into baseball and last but not least, my former coach Paul Narita, for being my pusher and one of my biggest fans." Theo replied.

The TV then showed photo slideshow of Paul together with the young man. Liam's eyes widened.

"Paul Narita was one of the reason why I'm here today! Without his constant pushing and tough love, I wouldn't get to where I am today." Theo praised Paul.

As Liam continued watching the segment, He learnt about how the baseball player conquered autism and how he often got bullied for being different.

By the end of the segment, Liam proceed to the dining room as he opened his laptop and began googling 'Theo Carver'. Searching more about his whereabouts.

"He's from Salem!" The blonde stated to himself.

As he searched through the images, he saw plenty of photos of Theo standing beside Paul. Most of these photos show the number of awards Theo has won.

* * *

"Are you sure it's a good idea that we meet them today?" Tamela asked

"They lost their son, it would be natural for them to wonder if they met someone that looks just like him." Liam assured.

"Now this sounds like an episode of 'The Haves and the Have Nots'" Tamela remarked before asking once more, "Li, you sure that you aren't…"

"Tamela…" Liam gently cut his mother-in-law off, "I told you last night, I read through the papers and I did my research. His body was found," Liam repeated his answer once more. "there's no way I could be that dead body."

"Okay, I just think that it's too much of a coincidence. Their kid died five years ago, you don't know maybe you could be that person." Tamela said.

"Trust me, we live simple lives. This is not an episode of 'The Haves and the Have Nots'!" Liam ruled out the possibility.

"Liam!" The blonde chef heard a voice calling from behind before turning around.

"Gabi, JJ! What are you doing here?" Liam asked.

"It's JJ's day off, he's got weekend duty!" Gabi replied, "What are you doing here?"

"Well, I'm about to have lunch." Liam replied.

"Yo Li! You know these people?" Ernest held Liam's shoulder from behind.

Gabi and JJ were surprised when they saw the African-American couple standing behind the blonde chef.

"Oh yeah, guys I would like you to meet Gabriella Hernandez and the young man beside her is Jack Deveraux. Jr. Gabi's boyfriend" Liam introduced.

"Nice to me meet you Mr…" Gabi trailed off, not knowing the man's last name.

"Oh please just call me Ernest." Ernest dispensed the formalities. "And this is my wife, Tamela."

"How you doing?" The African-American lady took the Latina lady's hand, shaking it firmly.

"And how are you guys related to Liam?" JJ asked.

"We're his parents." Tamela answered casually.

Gabi and JJ's eyes giggled it off "That's a good one!" Gabi stated when she stopped giggling.

"No, I'm serious. These are my parents."

Gabi and JJ smiled slowly faded away. "Wait a minute," JJ's tone slowly turning from a light-hearted to a slightly more serious one. "You're serious?"

"Of course I'm serious." Liam stated plainly.

Gabi and JJ's eyes widened. How could they not have seen this earlier? They should have done more research on Liam's family background.

"I'm sorry," Gabi apologized trying to break free from being stun. "I'm just wondering how could they…"

"How could they what?" Liam probed.

"I mean… it's not possible… You're white and they're…" Gabi stuttered.

"Oh! So that's what you mean!" Ernest laughed. "Bet you've never seen black parents with a white kid before!"

"Yeah, Liam is our adopted son! But he's so dear to us, he's practically flesh and blood." Tamela explained.

"He may be our adopted son, but he's our biological son-in-law!" Ernest interjected as the three of them began laughing away at the joke.

Gabi and JJ looked at each other, they did not know which one was more shocking. The fact that Liam Robertson, a white man with blonde hair had black parents or how you could tell the three people in front of them looked like a complete family as they behaved like one another.

* * *

Kayla Brady and her husband Steve Johnson walked into the DiMera mansion.

"Kayla, Steve! It's so good to meet you!" Chad greeted Steve with a hug.

"Hey Chad! It's good to see you to." Steve greeted back.

"Why don't we go to the living room and have a nice cup of coffee?" Chad directed them to the living room.

* * *

"So Sami, what do you do for a living?" Tamela asked, moving her upper body slightly for the waiter to place their food on the table.

"I'm in the film and entertainment industry. I work in LA, but my I grew up in Salem." Sami explained.

"So you do TV and movies, that's cool!" Ernest praised.

"What is your profession?" Lucas asked Ernest.

"Well, I'm the pastor of Woodhaven Baptist Church in New York!" Ernest replied.

"Excuse me, one moment." Liam stood up from his table and walked away before taking his iPhone out of his wallet.

"Hello?" Liam greeted.

"Hello, Liam?" Lito answered, "I know you're on your day off but Leah is down with a bad fever. I know timing couldn't be any worse but would you please take over Leah's shift?"

"Are you kidding me?" Liam raised his voice slightly.

"I know I know I'm sorry." Lito apologized. "But this is serious. I promise it will be just for lunch shift."

"Stay right there, no one leaves the restaurant until I get there. In the meantime, do what you can in the kitchen." Liam instructed before walking back to the table. "Sorry guys, I would love to chat but there's some emergency at the restaurant."

"Oh ok! Go ahead!" Tamela stated, "We will just pick Devon up for you. Don't you worry about that."

"Thanks guys! You're the best!" Liam hugged Tamela. It was truly great to have someone to help take care of his son. Liam felt that he was all alone so he really appreciated the support.

Sami and Lucas were now all alone with Tamela and Ernest. They knew why the topic would come out sooner or later.

"So, do you miss Liam?" Lucas started asking.

"Ooh we miss our baby boy to death!" Tamela replied, "He's been so dear to us and he has gone through so much in his life and he's out here all on his own as a single father."

Lucas and Sami began listening to much of the weal and woe Liam went through. Over the next half hour, they learnt about Liam's struggle to start a restaurant, Ernest and Tamela's initial disapproval of Liam and their daughter together and their daughter's demise. After telling them everything, the black woman said something that caught Lucas and Sami entirely off-guard.

"We heard from Liam about your son." Tamela confessed, "He has told us everything, how your son's husband mistaken Liam for him together with the rest of this town."

Sami and Lucas quietly looked down at their plates, both not knowing what to say.

"I understand the pain of losing your child." Ernest empathised, "I have lost my daughter over a year ago. Whatever you have been through, we have done that too."

Lucas nodded slowly, feeling comforted that they are in the same boat.

"If you want to tell us to stop seeing Liam, we understand. He's your child and it would be uncomfortable if we kept on pestering him." Lucas tried to predict what the couple opposite them were thinking.

"No, it's not that. Don't get us wrong." Tamela tried to clear the misunderstanding. "We aren't going to stop you from seeing Liam. As long as Liam's ok with seeing you guys, we don't have a problem at all."

"What we're trying to say is that, Liam has been through a lot these past couple of years. And we ain't gonna lie when we say we were partially at fault for the hardship he went through." Ernest confessed. "What we're trying to say is that I don't want you to keep on thinking of Liam as your late son. We hope that you don't keep on imposing or make him think that you are using him a replacement. Our boy has been through enough"

Hearing these words, Sami slowing looked up at Tamela with a look of acknowledgement.

"I understand." Sami said.

* * *

"What do you mean?" Chad asked seriously, "You're telling me that Ben has escaped? What kind of mental hospital is that?"

"Calm down Chad, John and I have been hired to locate Ben Weston. It is believed that Clyde has to do with his escape" Steve tried to sit Chad down, placing his hands on Chad's shoulder.

"After everything he done with Will? With Abby? How do you expect me to calm down? Did you know how much they went through?" Chad argued.

"And we completely agree!" Steve agreed, "What we mean is that, you can't tell Liam who he really is! Not right now!"

A frustrated Chad placed both hands on his head and ruffled his hair. "Then what are we supposed to do?"

"We need to get Will, Abigail and Thomas out of Salem, out of the state asap." Steve told Chad.

* * *

JJ Deveraux was sitting down thinking through whatever he just saw earlier at noon.

"How is that possible? Firstly, you tell me that you're from New York and now you have black parents? How the hell is that possible?" JJ grumbled to himself.

"I need to get Liam's DNA and test it against Arianna's this instant!" JJ made it his mission to verify everything once and for all.

* * *

Nicole, Theresa, Gabi and Paul were sitting on the panel. They were holding auditions for models for Basic Black's spring/summer fashion show.

"Ok, we have to look for fourteen models, seven guys and seven girls." Nicole stated, "Theresa, remember we can't just have a pretty face. We need to ensure certain models have a skin tone that would complement each piece."

"Got it!" Theresa took out the sketches from her suitcase. "Guys, these are the pieces. Take a look at them and visualise which model you see would be able to wear our pieces."

"Ok the first guy we have is…" Gabi flipped through the clipboard, "Greg Lee!" When Gabi called out the name she then realized, "Wait… Greg?"

An Asian model walked into the audition room with a wearing a white tee and blue jeans.

"Hi, I'm Greg Lee!" Greg introduced with a winning temper.

Paul eyes widened in shock and complete distaste.

"Wait a minute, you're Greg Lee!" Theresa stated, all star-struck. "You're like the male Cara Delevingne!"

"Wow, Greg Lee!" a very impressed Nicole Walker nodded her head. "You're one the country's top supermodels! You're practically the face of all Asian-Americans in the industry!"

"Excuse me? The face of Asian-American models? Are you kidding me?!" Paul wanted to yell at Nicole so badly.

"Haven't you retired a few years back?" Theresa asked.

Greg laughed "Semi-retired" he corrected. "I run my own modelling agency now. I don't have much time to model as much as before but when an opportunity comes and I have the time to model, I won't let it slide"

"What the hell is he doing here?" Paul glared at Greg. "First he comes to Salem and now he wants to control Basic Black?" Paul grumbled in his mind.

"I've already seen you down the runway plenty of times but we still need to see what you have now." Theresa wanted to be fair to all the other models, "Would you show us your catwalk."

After Greg finished his catwalk and taking off his shirt for examination, a very happy Nicole nodded her head with gladness.

"I don't even think we need to call you back, let's put to a vote." Nicole said, "I say yes!"

"I agree, a yes for me too!" Theresa echoed.

Paul place a thumb under his chin, "I don't know," he pretended to think for a few more seconds, "There's something about him that does not sit right with me." Paul stated, "I feel like he doesn't shout… Basic Black."

Nicole and Theresa turned their heads to look at Paul, raising their eyebrows.

Gabi rolled her eyes.

"Well, I disagree." Gabi differed, "I think he has a certain essence to him that's in line with Basic Black's clothing line. It's a yes for me!"

"You're hired!" Nicole stood up and walked towards Greg for a handshake.

"What about my vote?" Paul argued.

"Three out of four, majority rules." Gabi rolled her eyes once more. "Didn't you watch American Idol auditions when you were a kid?"

"You are going to draw in so much media coverage for our Spring/Summer collection!" Theresa squealed excitedly.

"Exactly!" Nicole concurred, "And you know what? I'm going to make you the third spokesperson for this Spring/Summer Collection!"

"Excuse me… what?" Paul could not contain his anger any longer.

"Oh Paul! It's not like we're going to cut your pay!" Theresa assured, "Nicole and I think that he will draw in business!"

"Hello Liam?" Greg picked up his cellphone.

Paul glared at Greg even harder when he heard the name coming from the latter's mouth. Greg saw the furious look on Paul's face before smiling at him.

"Yes, I'll be right there!" Greg replied before hanging up and saying his goodbyes.

* * *

-A few days later-

Sonny was looking through Liam's youtube channel. Whenever Sonny was taking a break, he would sit inside his office and look at Liam's cooking videos. He didn't know why he like watching the blonde's videos. Maybe it was the way he smiled as Liam rarely smiles back at him in person or the tone his voice which soothes him soul.

"Ooh a new video!" Sonny exclaimed as he clicked on the latest update.

"Hey y'all! And welcome to this special as we are going ORIENTAL! Today we are going to bake one of the best dim sum desserts ever!" Liam introduced.

"He's such a natural!" Sonny complimented

"With me today is one of the country's top supermodels and probably one of the most famous Asian-Americans in the fashion industry! And he's here today to help me make this Chinese dessert! Everyone please welcome Greg Lee!" Liam said as Greg walked into the small Youtube screen.

"What the hell?" Sonny raised his voice slightly.

"So glad you can join us here today!" Liam thanked.

"Of course! I love egg tarts! My mom used to bake them for me! If there's anything that will make me lose my abs, egg tarts would be it!" Greg joked as he lifted his tee, exposing his abs. "I don't know how will I get back my abs after this meal!"

"Gosh, he's so shameless!" Sonny muttered in disgust. "Why don't you stuff yourself up with egg tarts then?"

Although the remaining video was rather mundane, Sonny clicked the 'thumbs down' icon below the video screen.

"I'm never going to a chinese restaurant to order egg tarts… EVER!" Sonny decided.

* * *

Liam was now walking in the headquarters of DiMera Enterprises.

"Hi! Welcome to DiMera Enterprises, how may I help you?" The receptionist asked.

"Yes, I have an appointment with…" The blonde took the name card out of his pocket, "Chad DiMera?" He passed the name card to the receptionist.

"Ok, one moment please!" The receptionist dialled some numbers and made her phone call.

"Mr DiMera, you have an appointment with Mr Robertson?" The receptionist asked.

"Yes, send him in." The voice on the phone replied.

"Mr Robertson, this way please." The receptionist stood up and directed the blonde chef towards her superior's office.

"Mr DiMera, Mr Robertson is here." The receptionist informed as Liam walked in.

Liam walked into the office noticing the back of the swivel chair facing him.

"Liam Robertson, we meet once again!" The man greeted as he turned his swivel chair around.

"Good morning Mr DiMera!" Liam greeted, "It's good to see you again!"

"This guy is mysterious!" The blonde thought.

"Have a seat! Make yourself at home!" Chad pointed with his hand to the chair opposite him.

When Liam took his seat, he began to ask, "So why did you ask me here today?"

"Straight to the point, I like you!" Chad complimented, "You are forthright indeed! Since you're so direct, I won't waste my time on the small talk!" The brunette then took a contract out from his drawer and placed it on the table.

"This is a two-year contract with DiMera Enterprises. We would like you to be our spokesperson for our latest cookware line!" Chad stated, "It says here that you will go to malls around New York City to do cookware showcases. Aside from that, you will be our new poster boy and you will also need to do a little commercial."

Liam looked through the front page of the contract before his eyes widened when he realize the sum of money he was being given. "A two-hundred-thousand-dollar contract?" Liam raised his eyebrow, "Aren't you offering too much to someone whom you claim to be a 'rising star'" Liam used his fingers on both hands to form inverted commas, "What's the catch?"

"There is no catch. I'm not asking you to say yes immediately!" Chad laughed, "If you don't believe me, take home a copy of the contract and see it for yourself. The only thing you would probably need is to travel all over New York but that shouldn't be a problem!"

Liam looked at Chad warily as he took the contract and stood up from his chair.

"Alright, I'm going to look through this contract and get back to you asap." The blonde stated.

"Sure, go ahead! No need to thank me when you made up your mind!" Chad showed Liam the door, "Don't need to thank me or repay me when you realize the deal of your lifetime!"

Hearing Chad's remark a chord was struck in Liam's head,

" _Start a new simple life and stay happy, That's how you can repay me!" The brunette winked._

Liam turned around and look at Chad as the latter closed the door. He felt so stupid, how could he not know who the man he just talked to was.

"He's the man who saved me from the restaurant fire!" Liam realized.

* * *

"Babe, we need to get Liam's DNA asap!" JJ told Gabi.

"Ok, but I've heard from Greg. Liam seems pretty oblivious to his flirting." Gabi stated, "Maybe it was just a mistake all along. After all, I found Will's body!"

"So you are going to rule out the fact that he has black parents?" JJ retorted, "He's adopted!" JJ emphasized.

"The odds of all of this happening is just very low, especially after Greg's incessant flirting." Gabi stated.

"Maybe, he is really Will and he probably saw through Greg this entire time." JJ said. "Maybe he's back in Salem to take Arianna away from you."

"Will would never do that to me, he's my G-hub! He will never hurt me this way. Plus, why would he keep bringing Devon here if he wanted to take Arianna away." Gabi ruled out the option, "Arianna is Latina and Devon is Black. You're telling me that they could be siblings?"

As Gabi made her outlandish point, JJ remembered something really important the African-American couple told a few days ago.

" _He may be our adopted son, but he's our biological son-in-law!" Ernest interjected_

"Biological son-in-law" JJ mumbled, "biological son-in-law." JJ raised his voice a little louder. "That's it Gabi!" JJ shouted.

"I'm sorry, what?" Gabi crinkled her nose, not knowing what her boyfriend is talking about.

"Why didn't I think about that earlier? We had the key to the answers all along and we never took the opportunity to use it!" the cop jumped in excitement.

"I'm sorry, I lost you here." Gabi said cluelessly.

"If Liam is really Will, that means Ari and Devon are siblings!" JJ stated the obvious.

"Wait a minute…" Gabi realized what JJ was talking about, "I just told you Ari is Hispanic."

"Half-hispanic" JJ corrected, "And Devon is half-black!". "What they do have in common is that they are both half-white!"

"You are not going to…" Gabi warned.

"Oh yes I am!" JJ cut her off, "I'm going to take Devon's DNA and test it against Arianna's

* * *

A/N: Ok so that's it for now. Tell me what you think! Pls REVIEW! :D

I've been waiting for so long to get to this point. I know I promised you the big revelation in the next chapter but I think I can only write that in the chapter after. :/

So TWO MORE CHAPTERS TO THE BIG REVELATION! STAY TUNED! :D

Thanks for reading! :D


	20. Chapter 19B: Man Up!

CHAPTER NINETEEN – PART B

Liam was at home googling for team-building activities on his computer.

"I hope Paul will agree to this!" Liam spoke to himself.

* * *

Chad and Sonny were sitting together at Club TBD. They were spending the day viewing the club to potential tenants.

"Well, so far we do not have any tenants that are willing to pay much for maintenance." Sonny sighed, "Will this ever get up and running again?"

"Relax Sonny!" Chad grabbed Sonny over his shoulder, "You have run this club without me all these years! I think it's time you need to let me take over your worries."

"What do you mean?" Sonny asked.

"I have thought about this a lot. From now on, I will take over paying all the maintenance and upkeep." Chad told Sonny.

"Are you sure about that?" Sonny asked, "Because I'm doing pretty ok right now!"

"Save the remaining money you got!" Chad ordered, "Put it into Ari's tuition or college fund! I will handle this from here on out!"

"Hello? Is anybody here?" A voice from behind called.

"Yes, hello!" Chad greeted as he stood up from his chair and walk towards the man. "How may I help you?"

"I'm looking for a Chad DiMera and Sonny Kiriakis here?" The man questioned.

"Yes we are! Chad DiMera!" Chad shook the man's hand.

"Hi! I'm Noel Hultgren." The man introduced, "I'm here regarding a club lease?"

"Well well well, you have come to the right place!" Chad smiled.

"I supposed this is the club you're leasing out?" Noel asked.

* * *

"Indeed! Why don't we give you a tour and tell me what you think about it?" Chad directed Noel as Sonny trailed behind.

Liam was walking through the hallways of Salem High. The classrooms and the school was empty as he searched for Paul.

"Why isn't he answering his phone." Liam wondered as he headed for baseball field when he saw a lighted room from the corner of his eye. As Liam walked closer to the room, he heard voices.

"At the rate the team is going, I doubt they have any chance of getting into the semi-finals," Liam heard a voice that sighed despondently.

As Liam approached the door, He saw Paul and Coach Hudson in the room.

"Don't worry Coach, I will do my best to get them in their best shape!" Paul promised.

"You have to." Coach Hudson stated, "The semi-final is around the corner. You know what will happen if they lose." Coach Hudson warned once more before walking away.

Liam quickly hid at one corner. He didn't want Coach Hudson to see him, embarrassing Paul.

Paul fell back onto a swivel chair, sighing away.

Liam walked back to where he was standing earlier. He looked at a very resigned Paul, rubbing his temples.

"Hey!" Liam greeted, walking slowly into the room.

Paul looked up and saw the blonde, his face completely lit up. "Hey! What're you doing here?"

"Just wondering how are you doing?" Liam shrugged his shoulders.

"Gosh, does he know how adorable he is when he does that?" Paul mumbled.

"What is that?" Liam asked.

"Oh, I'm sorry." Paul blushed a little, "Just so tired that I'm talking to myself."

"No worries, I tend to do the same!" Liam assured. "We all have bad days."

"Well, I'm mentally prepared to leave." Paul sighed more, "I mean, I felt like I did all I could." Paul stood up as he walked towards the arm chair in the office to pick up his backpack.

"Hey! Why have you sound like you have given up?" Liam asked, raising his voice.

Paul turned around in a frustrated manner, "I have done all I could! I tried everything!" Paul snapped, "I did all I could and nothing… NOTHING WORKS!"

"The semi-finals in not even here yet, and you giving up before the battle's done?" Liam argued.

"It might as well be done!" Paul argued, "My career is over!" Paul dropped his backpack on the floor before falling back on the armchair. "When my pitching career ended, I thought I'd never have the chance to go back to baseball. That all changed when Salem High wanted me!" Paul grumbled in distress. "Now, my coaching career is coming to an end as well!"

The blonde walked towards the black-haired coach and sat on the edge of the armchair. He placed his hands on both ends of Paul shoulder's patting him.

"Look at me." Liam said gently.

Paul didn't respond.

"Look. At. Me" Liam repeated once more in a sterner tone.

Paul looked up and turned his head towards the blonde.

"Why do you let this get to you? It's not the end of the world." Liam pointed out. "Why are you surrendering when you don't even know the results?"

Paul looked at Liam's ocean blue eyes, there was something so comforting about those eyes.

"An entire sea can't sink a ship unless you let water get into it." Liam stated, "Similarly, the negativity of the world can't put you down unless you let it in. Let all this negativity slide pass you not get into your head."

"But what happens if the team really loses?" Paul bleated.

"So what if the team loses? Salem High isn't the only place where you coach baseball. You also coach baseball at Salem Elementary. Besides, if the principal fires you, that's too bad it's his loss. He doesn't understand your worth!" Liam pointed out.

Liam then took his iPhone out and showed Paul a photo.

"Look at this guy!" Liam passed Paul his iPhone. "Who is he?"

"Theo Carver?" Paul answered. "What does Theo have to do with this?"

"I was watching an interview of Theo on TV a few days ago. He said that you were one of the reasons why he pursued baseball!" Liam explained. "You helped a shy, quiet boy who gone through autism and bullying to pursue what he really loves. And today, he one of the rising stars in baseball!"

Paul looked back at Liam, realizing what he's about to say.

"Where is Paul Narita? The Coach that influences, the fatherly figure which inspires and pushes this shy boy and turned him into a hot shot? Where is he?" Liam challenged. "If you can change this boy's life, I don't see how you won't be able to lose in the semi-finals. So man up and take the lead!"

Paul's look of sadness slowly turned into a wistful smile.

"Now onto working with the team, I think I just might have an idea for them to work in unity!" Liam smirked.

* * *

"I'm glad to be doing business with you!" Chad stated shaking Noel's hand.

"This is a good location and I believe I'm able to make this club the hottest club in Salem!" Noel smiled.

"Well, I'm looking forward to see what you will do with it." Sonny lied with a wistful smile. He could not believe the club filled with life and joy will now be occupied by someone else.

"My brother, Neil and I are absolutely thrilled! We can't wait get started!" Noel exclaimed.

* * *

A/N: I wouldn't call this a chapter but more of a "deleted scene" lol. I actually wanted to add this into chapter nineteen but I got lazy! :P

So like it? Love it? Hate it? REVIEW! :D

Thanks for reading! :D


	21. Chapter 20: A meal from the heart

CHAPTER TWENTY

Liam Robertson laid on his couch with a blanket as he pondered the meeting he had with the chairman of DiMera Enterprises. He read through the contract a number of times, not leaving a single word out.

"The contract says I need to travel around the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island and Manhattan." Liam said to himself. "A two-hundred-thousand-dollar contract with food and lodging included. Isn't this a little of a stretch?"

Liam sat up on the couch and took the contract from the coffee table as he began reading through the contract once more.

"He's clearly the man who saved me from the fire. Did he really not recognize me?" The blonde wondered, "Why is he pretending like he doesn't know me? And why does he want to get me back to New York asap?"

Questions were running through Liam's mind. He did not know what to think of the situation. He was curious, yet he did not want to get into any drama. Liam then decided to on the TV and distract himself a little.

"Let's not read too much into the details, maybe he really did not remember me." Liam decided to give Chad DiMera the benefit of a doubt. "After all, it has been five years. It took forever for me to remember. Maybe he just needs a longer while."

* * *

"Hey Abs! It's so good to see you!" JJ greeted his sister with a hug.

"Yeah, it's nice to finally be home!" Abigail laughed, "How have you been? When are you going to get married?" Abigail teased.

"Oh come on Abs! Not you too!" JJ groaned, "Mom has been pestering me to marry Gabi on a weekly basis!"

"Well, the two of you have been dating for five years already! It's time to take the plunge!" Abigail gently slapped JJ's arm.

"Hey JJ! What are you doing here?" Chad walked into the house with TJ.

"Uncle JJ!" TJ ran into JJ's arms before JJ lifted him up.

"Hey how is my nephew Thomas? Why you have grown!" JJ put TJ down before picking up the shopping bag he brought. "Guess what Uncle JJ bought for you?" JJ passed the shopping bag to TJ.

"Oooh! Legos!" TJ exclaimed when he saw what was inside the shopping bag.

"Yeah, why don't you go up to your room to play with your new toy?" JJ suggested.

"Ok!" TJ turned around, heading towards the staircase.

"Thomas, what must you say to Uncle JJ?" Abigail reminded.

TJ turn around when he took the first step on the stairs, "Oh, I almost forgot. Thank you Uncle JJ!"

"Good boy, now don't run up the stairs!" Chad patted TJ's head before watching his son disappear into his room.

"So JJ, what brings you here?" Chad asked.

"I'm actually here to discuss with you guys something." JJ's tone became more serious.

"You sound serious, what's wrong?" Abigail questioned.

"Well, it is about Liam Robertson." JJ informed in a sterner and softer voice.

Chad furrowed his eyebrow.

* * *

Liam Robertson was walking through Horton Town Square from the grocery store. He was annoyed with Jackson Kiriakis and his childish ways.

" _I'm taking leave for a few days next week." Liam notified his boss._

" _And why are you taking leave?" Sonny asked._

" _Because I want to?" The blonde raising one eyebrow and shrugged his shoulders._

" _Gosh, you're adorable when you're like this!" Sonny mumbled through his teeth._

" _I'm sorry, what?" Liam asked._

" _Nothing, I'm just wondering why the sudden need to leave?" Sonny questioned. "I'm getting suspicious here?"_

" _And why is that any of your concern?" Liam countered._

" _When it comes to my head chef," Sonny stood up from his chair and walked towards Liam until their faces were a few inches apart. "you are of utmost importance to me." Sonny grabbed the blonde's waist and pulled his body against his._

" _What the hell?" Liam barked, face down trying to look at Sonny's hands wrapped around him. When he looked up, his nose touched Sonny's. Then and there, there was an awkward silence between the two._

 _Liam's heart began pounding, "Shit, why am I so nervous?" He panicked to himself. "Ok, ok look away look away… Why aren't you looking away?" Liam chided himself._

 _Sonny smiled when he saw Liam's cheeks turning red. "Wait a minute, is he blushing?"_

 _Liam quickly pushed Sonny away, afraid that the unthinkable would happen._

" _I want to help Paul, your boyfriend" The blonde emphasized, "with his baseball team. He seems to be having a hard time so I thought of a few team-building activities to help them."_

" _And what his baseball team got to do with you?" Sonny frowned._

" _He's your boo, and you don't know about this?" Liam stared at Sonny, "He's disappointed with the team and he's stressed about it!"_

" _Yeah I know about that, but why are you so caught up in his business? How are you going to help the baseball team? Cook them dinner?" Sonny said._

" _I just told you I got a list of activities for them to do." Liam gave Sonny the blank stare._

" _Ok fine." Sonny may not feel comfortable with Liam hanging with Paul but he knew Paul could use some help._

" _However, there is one condition!" Sonny told Liam._

 _Liam rolled his eyes before asking, "And what is that?"_

" _I want to be on your next cooking video." Sonny stated._

 _Liam slanted his head to one side, "Seriously?"_

" _I want to make a traditional Greek dessert" Sonny stated, "I saw your video on how to make chinese egg tarts and I thought that you would want to explore various cultures of food. So, I would like to make a dessert with you!"_

Liam rolled his eyes, he could not believe what he agreed to.

* * *

"Wait, I thought Liam Robertson's parents were in Salem?" Abigail asked.

"Parents-in-law, black parents-in-law" JJ corrected, "but he calls them his parents!"

"Seriously, couldn't he find a normal white couple to call his parents?" Chad grumbled at the back of his head.

"So we are back to thinking that Liam Robertson could be Will?" Abigail asked.

"I don't know." JJ sighed. "I just know that if he is really Will, he needs to come back into Arianna's life. Arianna after all needs her father."

"So what are you going to do?" Chad asked.

"What else is there to do?" JJ shrugged. "I'm planning to get to the bottom of this."

Chad looked down on the floor, he did not want his wife and brother-in-law to see the terrified look on his face.

"We need to get Liam out of here NOW!" Chad decided, realizing how he was going against time.

"JJ, I want you to think about this rationally. Maybe it's truly an honest mistake." Chad dissuaded.

"No, there's too many evidences that proves that Liam maybe Will. The man speaks german and not just any german, swiss german." JJ emphasized, "I'm not leaving any stone unturned."

Chad wanted to place his palm on his forehead but he did not want to give himself away. He settled for a long sigh.

* * *

"So what do we need to do for this Greek yoghurt cake?" Sonny asked.

"Didn't you say you know how to make this dessert?" Liam rolled his eyes, "Well thankfully I got the recipe and the ingredients required."

Sonny took an egg out of the egg tray, cracked it and dropped the egg into a bowl.

"What the hell are you doing?" Liam asked.

"Cracking some eggs?" Sonny tossed the egg shells into a bin.

"You obviously don't know how to bake this cake." Liam grumbled with slight irritation. "You are supposed to separate the egg yolks from the whites.

"And how am I supposed to do that? You don't have an egg yolk separator." Sonny said.

"Child, you don't need no egg yolk separator to separate the egg from the yolk. All you need is your two hands. Let me show you" Liam walked behind Sonny and took his left wrist.

"Open your hand" Sonny turned his left hand around. The blonde chef now standing behind him moved his wrist above the bowl.

"Can you crack the egg with one hand?" Liam asked.

"No?" Sonny replied, uncertain whether Liam would scold him.

"Alright fine." Liam took the bowl with the egg Sonny cracked opened earlier.

"Washed your hands already?" Liam questioned.

"Yeap!" Sonny answered.

"Ok so what we're going to pour the egg onto your hand" Liam poured the entire egg onto Sonny's hand. "Now all you need to do now is let the egg white drip through your fingers." Sonny separated his fingers slightly as the white flowed down into the bowl. As Liam's chin touched Sonny's shoulder, Sonny turned his head to his direction. He noticed the blonde staring intently at the wrist he is holding.

"That's it, slowly let all the white flow down." Liam remarked.

"You may be a strict teacher, but you sure are a patient one." Sonny complimented, admiring how attentive the blonde was to guiding him.

Liam turned to look at Sonny, accidentally colliding their noses against one another. Their lips were now an inch or two away from one another. They both stared intently into each other's eyes.

Liam's heart was pounding again, he did not know why was he feeling this way all the sudden. He could not deny that he had been thinking about Jackson Kiriakis when he realized that he was his husband's doppelganger. He did think about how to make him feel better by being nicer to him and have even become good friends with him over the past few months. Still, it was new that he felt his cheeks getting warmer. He did not feel that way when he hugged him previously.

This is the first time Liam did not pull away from him. Seeing the flushing cheeks on his face, Sonny boldly but slowly lean forward. And as their lips were about to touch.

"Da da! Da da!" an infant's voice came giggling from behind.

Liam quickly pull away and saw Devon running towards the kitchen.

"Oh Devon, what are you doing here?" Liam ran towards his son, carried him and walked towards the living room. "Are you hungry?"

Sonny exhaled in disappointment.

* * *

"Hello" Kayla greeted as she picked up the phone.

"Kayla, it's Chad. We've got a 911!" Chad warned.

"Hey Chad what's going on? You're scaring me." Kayla asked.

"Well, getting Will out of Salem just got a lot harder!" Chad informed.

"What are you talking about?" Kayla exasperated.

"You need to tell everyone for this afternoon in Salem University Hospital that you will be in charge of the DNA testing. No one is going through with a DNA test without your approval." Chad instructed.

"I'm sorry, I don't get a clue of what you're saying." Kayla massaged the bridge of her nose.

Chad turned his head left and right, making sure no one was around before entering the bathroom. He closed the door and turned on the tap, letting the water run.

"Look, JJ and Gabi are onto Will." Chad explained, "JJ is thinking about getting Liam's DNA and would probably be on his way to the hospital."

"What?" The sound of Kayla's voice intensified.

"Calm down Kayla, this isn't the time to panic." Chad reminded, "We need to make sure that JJ does not get pass you for DNA testing."

"Ok, I got it!" Kayla noted before hanging up. She walked into her office before placing the documents on the table.

"Seriously, you got to add more pressure on me?" Kayla massaged the temples of her head.

* * *

"I couldn't thank you enough for taking care of Devon for me" Liam said as he guided Devon into the house.

"Wow, Devon is really walking faster!" Gabi complimented.

"Yeah… I can barely catch up with him these days." Liam groaned light-heartedly.

"Hey mom!" Arianna came running out of her room with a catalogue, "Can I please buy this?" She showed her mother the catalogue and pointed at the figurine on the page.

"You know your Daddy Sonny has been complaining that you have too many toys!" Gabi warned.

"Por favor?" Arianna pleaded in spanish.

"You do know that pleading me in spanish will not get you what you want right? I'm with Daddy Sonny on this." Gabi told her daughter.

"Hey Arianna, I have brought Devon here today!" Liam greeted.

Arianna turned her head. When she realized who greeted her, she glared at the blonde man before walking back into her room."

"Arianna, why aren't you greeting Liam? Where are your manners?" Gabi raised her voice. "Arianna, Arianna!"

"It's ok, I got to run." Liam shook Arianna's rudeness off, trying to calm Gabi down. "This is Devon's bag…"

"Hey Babe," Liam heard a voice from behind him before turning around. "Liam, it's good to see you!"

"Hey JJ!" Liam greeted, "I wanted to thank you guys for taking care of Devon on such short notice! My parents couldn't leave at the worst time!"

"No worries, we miss Devon!" JJ smiled. "We couldn't be happier that Devon is in our arms." JJ meant every word of that sentence.

"Ok, I got to go!" Liam put his bag of diapers and baby necessities before leaving.

Once they made sure Liam left, JJ quickly opened the baby bag, rummaging through it.

"You're sure about this?" Gabi questioned once more.

"Absolutely positive" JJ nodded before taking finding a pacifier in the bag. "Now, pass me Ari's toothbrush."

* * *

Liam was walking through the hallways of Salem High as memories ran through his mind of the incident with Jackson Kiriakis earlier that day.

He recalled how close their faces were when he was teaching the brunette how to separate an egg yolk from its egg white.

"No way, I'm not falling for Jackson Kiriakis." The blonde shook his head violently. "This cannot be happening. I mean yeah I feel sorry for him losing his husband but that doesn't mean that I should fall for him. Besides, he and Paul are together… or somewhere around there."

"Hey Paul!" Liam greeted Paul with a bro handshake before diving into a bro hug.

"Hey Liam!" Paul greeted back, "The team is already at the field. I hope you know what you're doing."

"Relax, I did team-building activities all the time back in my church choir in New York. This method may start off bad at first but it will help the team work together." Liam assured.

* * *

Sonny was sitting on his swivel chair in his office. He was thinking about the conversation he had with Paul the a few days before.

" _So…" Paul said hesitantly, "I wanted to be honest with you. I don't want to end up arguing every time we bring up this topic."_

 _As Paul sounded rather serious, Sonny gulped and straighten his back._

" _This is about Liam." Paul stated._

 _Sonny closed his eyes before taking a deep breath. Although he knew what topic Paul was going to bring up, he prayed that he was wrong. He exhaled slowly before looking back at Paul._

" _What about Liam?" Sonny asked, trying not to feel troubled._

" _Well, Liam said he would love to help me get the team to work better together." Paul stated, "So he would like to spend a few days helping me out at Salem High."_

 _Fear once again risen up Sonny's gut. However, his mind kept telling him that Paul informing was the right thing to do._

" _Liam is straight, there's no way the two of them would do anything." Sonny kept on reminding himself. "There's no way anything will happen."_

" _I really hope you're not mad." Paul began going on, "He really had some great ideas about getting the team to work together…"_

" _It's ok, I get it." Sonny cut Paul off._

" _Really?" Paul asked once more, surprised._

" _Yeah!" Sonny smiled. "I mean Liam is truly one of the best people we have ever met. Sure he's got a tough exterior and he's often straightforward and feisty but when you're down, you can sure find a friend and a confidant in him."_

" _I'm so glad you aren't weird or angry about this!" Paul heaved a little sigh of relief. "I really wanted to be completely honest with you."_

" _Look, I know I haven't been completely honest with you about Liam." Sonny tried to explain without making Paul insecure. "You know Will will always be a part of me and when Liam came around, I couldn't help but feel…" Sonny paused for a while, "compelled to know him better."_

" _You don't have to explain it to me." Paul assured Sonny, "Will is an important part of your life and I know that. Plus, Liam is genuine person, it's hard for anyone to not like him."_

 _Sonny walked towards Paul and gave a quick peck on the lips._

"You know nothing is going to happen. Liam is not gay." Sonny Kiriakis kept on reminding himself.

* * *

"A six-legged race?" Paul laughed, "I can't believe you made seven people tie their legs together and race it out!"

"A six-legged race is all about coordination" Liam explained. "everyone in the middle needs to coordinate their legs with one another so teamwork is everything!"

"I can't believe that the team is actually working together!" Paul smiled, "I haven't seen them so happy as a unit in such a long time!"

"I'm glad you're happy!" Liam smiled.

"I couldn't thank you enough!" Paul showed his appreciation as they sat down on the coffee table in Coach Hudson and his office. "To show you how grateful I am, let me take you out to dinner my treat."

"Maybe next time, since practice ended later than usual today. I actually brought us something to eat!" Liam took a few containers and chopsticks out of the recyclable bag he brought and placed it on the table.

"What is this?" Paul asked.

"Open it and see" Liam told him.

Paul opened the lunchbox, he saw various types of sushi in the container including his favourite, salmon sushi.

"It's sushi!" Paul smiled, "I haven't eaten this in ages!"

"I'm a New Yorker, I live in a multi-cultural city." Liam explained, "I have tried so many types of food from chinese, indian all the way to lebanese cuisine. Frankly, the food in Salem is getting more boring by the minute. I'm left with no option but to make my own food."

"You made this?" Paul asked, stunned.

"Is there a sushi shop in Salem?" The blonde chef asked rhetorically.

"Wow! I can't believe you made it all by yourself!" Paul praised in awe, "Is there anything you can't cook?" Paul excitedly split open the wooden chopsticks.

"Wait I almost forgot!" Liam stopped Paul as he quickly took a thermos flask, two Styrofoam cups and some soy sauce packets. "You forgot your soy sauce! I'm sorry I didn't bring any wasabi, couldn't find it at the grocery store." Liam apologized.

"Are you kidding me?" Paul laughed, "You have made such a huge spread of sushi for me and you're apologizing? I should be the one thanking you!"

* * *

After dinner, the two men were completely stuffed. They had a good conversation about sushi and their lives back in New York and San Francisco and the changes they have to make as two big-city boys living in a small town.

"Thanks for the dinner once more!" Paul was incredibly touched; it was not everyday someone would go all out to make something for him.

"No big," Liam shook it off, "I wanted to have something different beside steaks and potatoes. I thought about sushi and then thought why not let you try some! I hope it's to your liking!" The blonde sipped his cup of hot green tea.

"Are you kidding? These are one of the best sushi meals I ever had!" Paul exclaimed.

The baseball coach looked at the blonde's expression, he adored Liam's innocence. He is enchanted by the way he makes the smallest gestures to cheer him up.

"You know, aside from my mom, no one has actually made japanese food for me." Paul confessed staring seriously at Liam. "You're the first person that actually did that for me."

Puzzled by Paul's expression, Liam laughed, embarrassed. "Really, it's ok." The blonde shrugged his shoulders, "I didn't know I will make you this happy! I may not be very good-looking, nor am I the type of person that would speak thousands of poetry to win your heart. But eh, I have a pair of hands that can cook. And PS." Liam leaned in closer as if he were telling a secret. "A way to a woman's heart, or in your case, a man's heart is through his stomach." The blonde winked.

"Not good-looking? Are you kidding me?" Paul got frustrated, when he wanted a serious conversation with the blonde but the latter didn't seem to get a single clue.

"Hey what are you doing?" Liam barked as Paul snatched the styrofoam cup from him and placed it on the coffee, grabbed him by the shoulders and turn him to his direction.

"Look at me!" Paul ordered.

"Ok, what is wrong with you?" Liam argued.

"Do you have any idea how attractive you are?" Paul's emerald green eyes were now fixed on Liam's ocean blue ones. Paul boldly placed his right hand on Liam's face. "Do you know how difficult it can be to be around you?"

"What are you talking about?" Liam got slightly confused, his heart was thumping faster.

"Do you know how often I think about you?" Paul confessed.

Liam's eyes widened, he was afraid where this was going.

"I know I will get rejected, but I'm not going to regret doing this." Paul pulled Liam's entire body forward and planted his lips on the blonde chef's. The baseball coach used his tongue to pry Liam's mouth open.

The blonde struggled in shock, completely caught off-guard as Paul's tongue made his way into his mouth. Running out of air, he gasped giving Paul the opportunity to suck his upper lip and then stick his tongue further down his mouth.

The blonde pushed him away and then gave a tight slap across the face.

"What on earth do you think that you're doing?" Liam yelled.

"I'm trying to confess my feelings for you." Paul boldly announced.

"Well, I thought I made it clear to this entire town that I'm straight!" Liam stated in a rough manner. The two of them stayed silent, standing where they are for a few seconds before Liam took the lunchboxes and closed them before putting them all back into the recyclable bag.

"I got to go!" Liam briskly walked out of the office.

Paul let the blonde walk on by as he fell onto the chair.

"What have I done?" Paul asked himself as fear crept into his mind. He wasn't lying when he said he did not regret kissing him but he just realized he put their friendship on the chopping block.

* * *

"Dr Brady, there's someone waiting to do DNA testing right now." A nurse announced, peeping her head into the office.

"Sure, I will be right there." Kayla dropped whatever she was doing and followed the nurse. It wasn't very often that someone would want to do a DNA analysis. "Ok, just get the samples and swap it. No one's going to find out." Kayla kept telling herself. As Kayla followed the nurse, her heart was pounding at the thought of going against her doctor's code of honour.

"Here is the person who wants a DNA." The nurse pointed out. Kayla turned her head, only to see the surprise on her face.

"Hello," A woman greeted, "I would like to conduct a DNA test between my daughter and I."

Kayla's eyes widened in shock. "Wait, if JJ isn't here, where is he?"

* * *

Inspector JJ Deveraux was walking hurriedly into Salem PD.

"Has any of you seen Shawn?" JJ asked a junior cop frantically.

"Hey hey hey!" JJ heard Shawn's voice from behind. "JJ what's the matter?" Shawn asked.

"I need to talk to you asap!" JJ urged.

* * *

A/N: I bet all of you thought JJ was going to consult Kayla for the DNA testing! HAH! Gotcha!

Anyway, once I'm done with my exams, I'm much more likely to release a chapter once a week. SO YAY!

PS. Next chapter the THE BIG REVELATION! AHHHHHHHHHH! STAY TUNED! :D

Thanks for reading and you guys better REVIEW! :D

PS. pardon my spelling mistakes! :D


	22. Chapter 21: Better in Time

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

Liam Robertson was in a dilemma as he stomped through Horton town Square.

"What on earth was he thinking?" Liam babbled to himself. He was so confused. What did baseball superstar, Paul Narita see in a loud, straightforward, average-looking heterosexual chef from New York?

Liam couldn't get the entire scenario out of his head. What exactly did he do to give Paul Narita the wrong idea? He thought he had made his intentions very clear. He was trying to be a supportive friend throughout a difficult ordeal.

Thoughts of Paul Narita ran through his head. When the whole town went ballistic thinking that he was Will Horton, Paul was one of the only few who treated him like a normal person. He found a friend in Paul, someone that he could confide in. At the same time, he was glad that the baseball coach could also confide in him whenever he is facing problems.

He be directing his thoughts about Paul's green eyes. He would be lying if he said he was not ensnared by how sorrowful they were. When Paul was on the verge of tears, a part of him wanted to cry together with him. He recalled the times he watched the baseball coach at work and how patient and compassionate he was to the elementary students. Paul Narita was as gentle as a bluebird towards the children but tougher than an ox in front of his high school students. It was alluring and endearing.

"Wait a minute why am I thinking about Paul Narita that way?" Liam asked himself in surprise. He hastily curled his hands into fists before knocking his own head repeatedly. "Snap out of it! Why are you thinking about him?!"

* * *

"What do you mean? You're telling me that Liam Robertson could be Will after all?" Shawn Douglas Brady questioned in shock.

"Yes, but look I'm keeping this on the DL. Only three other people know about this." JJ replied.

"Who are the three?" Shawn questioned.

"Gabi, Chad and my sister." JJ answered.

"Ok." Shawn nodded his head as thoughts run through his head. "What did you tell Abigail and Chad?"

"I told Abigail and Chad about what I suspect and what I plan to do." JJ replied.

"What about Gabi?" Shawn inquired.

"Gabi is babysitting Devon, that's how I got his DNA." JJ answered.

"Since Gabi is the only one that know you got the DNA, you two are not going to tell anyone I mean anyone else about this." Shawn instructed.

"What about Chad and Abigail?" JJ asked.

"A DNA test between half-siblings isn't as simple as a paternity or a maternity test." Shawn explained. "It would take a few weeks for the results to be established. Besides, I myself have a lot of cases to work on, so this may take a while. We can't afford to alarm anyone. Tell Gabi she is not allowed to say a single word about this."

JJ let out a deep sigh. "Ok, I got it." He acknowledged. "Please settle this asap! This is very important to both Gabi and I" JJ urged before taking his leave.

Shawn Douglas Brady leaned back onto his swivel chair. His heart was racing at the thought of it. What would he tell his wife? Belle has gotten really close to her younger brother over the years.

"No, I can't tell Belle either." Shawn decided, "If she knew, she would tell Paul!"

* * *

"Hey Gabi, I'm back!" Liam greeted. "Where is Devon?"

"Devon is right there on the sofa!" Gabi answered, directing him to the living room.

"How's my little sweet face?" Liam grabbed his son by the armpits before lifting him up in the air. "Have you been a good boy?" He then turned his head to see Arianna sitting on the sofa. "Hey Arianna? You seem to be to resting today? Have you finished your homework?"

Arianna turned to face Liam, shooting a glare at him. "Of course I completed my homework! Why are you asking me as if I haven't finish it yet?" Arianna barked before taking her leave.

"Arianna, what's the matter with you?" Gabi raised her voice, "Watch that tone of yours young lady!" Gabi then turned to look at Liam, "Sorry, she must be having a bad mood today."

"Mom! He's the reason why Daddy Sonny and Paul are not together, he is trying to destroy our family!" Arianna rebutted, "I won't let him take Daddy Sonny away from Paul" As Arianna said her piece, she quickly ran back into her room and slam the door.

"Arianna, Arianna!" Gabi shouted before walking towards Arianna's room.

Guilt began creeping through him as he recalled the kiss between him and Paul earlier in the evening. All Liam Robertson wanted was to be a friend to those in need. The last thing he wanted was to become a homewrecker. He needed to rectify the situation quickly.

"Wait!" Liam stopped Gabi, "Let me go talk to her. I need to clear the misunderstanding."

"I don't this will be the right time for you to talk to her." Gabi cautioned.

"Well, I do know that if Kiriakis or Paul finds out about this, I will be caught in a super big sticky situation which I don't want to be a part of." Liam demurred. "I will wait for a few minutes for Arianna to cool down before going in."

"Hey!" Liam knocked the door, "Do you mind if I come in?" Hearing no respond from Arianna, Liam open the door and headed into the room. Liam took a seat on the chair beside Arianna's bed.

"What do you want?" Arianna questioned, annoyed.

"I think you and I need to…" Liam thought of the right words to say "clear the air."

Arianna looked away.

"Arianna, what makes you think that I will take Daddy Sonny away from Paul?" Liam asked.

"It always happens in telenovelas!" Arianna answered, "First the evil woman says she's not interested in the married man then they slowly fall in love! You the evil woman in the telenovela trying to break Daddy Sonny and Paul up!"

Guilt continue creeping through Liam's stomach. If Jackson Kiriakis hitting on and trying to flirt with him on a daily basis was not enough, his love interest just confessed his feelings for the blonde chef moments ago. Arianna was right, he was breaking them up. He needed to rectify the situation.

Liam boldly took a seat on the bed and took a photo from his wallet.

"Look at this photo." Liam showed the pocket-sized picture to the blonde girl. "This is my wife." He introduced.

Arianna took the photo from Liam before giving it a closer look. "Wow! She's really pretty!" Arianna was dazzled by her mocha skin, brown eyes and straight black hair.

"Yes, she is really pretty." Liam agreed, "Not only is she pretty, but she is also a fantastic singer!"

"Really?" Arianna exclaimed. "Can she sing like Demi Lovato?"

"Better than Demi Lovato!" Liam complimented, "Plus, she can play the guitar as well as Tori Kelly!"

"Wow!" Arianna marvelled in awe, not only was the black woman in the photo beautiful but she was also talented.

"She's the love of my life." Liam explained, "When I was in school, she helped me during the bad times of my life. She's the only woman for me."

"She must mean a lot to you." Arianna remarked, "Where is she now?" the girl asked.

"Right now…" Liam was hesitant to talk about his late wife, but he needed to clarify the matter with the seven-year-old. He felt compelled to get into her good books. "She got really really ill, and she went to a better place."

Arianna saw the sadness in the blonde man's eyes. She realized beyond Liam Robertson's lively and optimistic exterior, he had also lost someone really important to him.

"Do you miss her?" Arianna asked.

"Yeah, I definitely miss her." Liam nodded. "I wish she could see Devon take his first steps, I wish she could see Devon grow up! I think about her every single day."

"Have you thought about finding someone else?" Arianna boldly asked.

"Sweetie, finding someone else takes time. Plus, I'm very busy at work now." Liam added, "Devon is not like you. You got your mom, your Daddy Sonny, JJ and Paul. Devon has only me. I need to be there for Devon whenever I have time."

"So you are really not trying to take Daddy Sonny away from Paul?" Arianna asked once more.

Liam hesitated for a moment. He did not know why a part of him felt as if he was about to lie. He knew the answer to Arianna's question.

"Oh Arianna!" Liam quickly shook off the bad hunch, "Your Daddy Sonny and Paul are good friends of mine. I can assure you that I do not like them!"

"Really?" Arianna wanted to confirm.

"Yeah really!" Liam promised. "Besides, I prefer girls more than guys silly!"

As the two were talking, Sonny Kiriakis was standing behind the door. He overheard parts of the conversation.

"You knew Liam was straight. You knew this wasn't going to work out." Sonny told himself repeatedly in disappointment.

* * *

-Two weeks later-

Nicole Walker, Theresa Donovan and Kate Roberts were in a private meeting. Actually, this private meeting was not exactly very private as Anne could hear the loud commotion from outside.

"I'm telling you he is nothing but trouble!" Nicole argued.

"After everything he has done? You're actually letting him invest in our fashion show?" Theresa raised her voice, "I worked my ass off for months to put this collection together! I'm not going to let someone dangerous into this!"

"Theresa, the only thing you've been focusing on is your designing." Kate countered, "While designing is important, I don't think you have seen this from a business perspective."

"Oh cut the bull Kate! I wouldn't argue with you if we just started to work together yesterday. But We've been working together for the past five years. Stop treating me like a child!" Theresa barked.

"I'm not going to deny what he has done in the past." Kate tried to relent a little, "However, this is strictly business. We have to be objective!"

"Okay since you say it's strictly business," Nicole said, "This is a fashion show and reporters, magazine editors, journalists and a whole bunch of press is going to be there. Have you ever thought about how the people would react if they find out he's there?"

"Ok, the fashion show is tonight, and we are out of time. Can any of find another investor for this fashion show?" Kate challenged.

Nicole and Theresa looked at the ground, not knowing what to say.

"That's what I thought." Kate smirked in triumph, "The fashion show is tonight so let's get cracking!"

* * *

Kayla Brady was mildly trembling; it had been two weeks since Chad last told her JJ Deveraux was getting to the bottom of discovering Liam Robertson's true identity. Yet, she had not receive any other form of news neither anyone she knew went to the hospital for a DNA test.

"Hey sweetness! What's the matter?" Kayla's husband took her by the hand, noticing how worried she was. "You're shaking" he remarked. "I think you need to go back home."

"No!" Kayla objected. "I can't leave! Will's life is at stake and Chad and I are the cause of it. We have to get him out of Salem now!"

"Sweetness," Steve placed his arms around his wife's waist, pulling her into a hug. "we have been through much worse. Chad and I are going to make sure Will and Abigail will be out of Salem in no time."

* * *

"Mr DiMera, Mr Robertson is here to see you." The secretary announced.

"Send him in!" Chad replied.

Liam walked into the office. This time, he saw Chad standing up to welcome him.

"Ahhh, Liam! It's so good to see you. Take a seat!" Chad directed the blonde to the chair opposite him.

Liam looked warily at the chairman of DiMera Enterprises. "What exactly is he up to?" He wondered.

"First of all, I wanna say I'm sorry I haven't been able to meet you! I had plenty of work on my plate" Chad apologized.

"Don't sweat it!" Liam assured.

"Secondly, I wanna say congratulations!" The brunette smiled.

Crinkling his nose, the chef pulled his head slightly backwards. "I'm sorry, I have no idea what you're talking about!"

"What you mean, don't know?" Chad asked, surprised. "As of last week, your youtube channel has went into the top fifty youtube channels under the Howto & Style category!"

"Really?" Liam asked, amused. He didn't really care about the youtube charts so it did come as a surprise to him. "I'm sorry, I don't usually check whether I'm doing well or not."

"You have made a name for yourself on Youtube! The shareholders and board of directors are now eager for you to come on board DiMera Enterprises!" Chad pulled out his drawer and took a file out.

"This is an updated contract!" Chad tossed the file onto the table. "I'm adding another fifty thousand dollars into this because the shareholders and the board would love for you to join our DiMera family!"

Liam warily open the file and look through the contract. There was something really fishy about Chad DiMera, he read through the contract umpteen times over the past few weeks. He tried to find whatever loopholes there were. The contract was too good to refuse, and that scared him.

"He must be up to something, why is he spending so much money on me?" Liam wondered at the back of his head.

"Mr DiMera," Liam called.

"Oh please, I told you you may call me Chad!" Chad corrected.

"Chad," Liam addressed informally, "The thing is I am bounded by another contract."

"Well, what is it?" Chad asked.

"As you know, I'm currently a chef at La Strada in Hotel Titan." Liam explained, "I have a two-year contract I need to uphold."

"Let's see whether he is really trying to get me out of Salem!" Liam decided inwardly.

"No worries!" Chad assured, "Getting a spokesperson also mean that we need to buy them out of whatever situation they're in! I will get that covered."

Liam's eyes widened, he really hoped that he was wrong in his suspicion.

"He really does want me out of Salem." Liam realized.

"Really?" Liam smiled, "Give me a day to think it through. I will get back to you tomorrow."

"Sure! I'm looking forward to hear good news from you!" Chad flashed smile of relief.

Liam walked out of the office, with a deep fear of uncertainty in him.

"Why does he want me out of Salem so badly?" Thoughts and questions kept running into Liam's mind now.

* * *

Kayla was clearing whatever paperwork she had left. She needed to distract herself from all the anxiety and uncertainty concerning Liam Robertson.

"Worrying will not get me anywhere," Kayla decided. "No news after all may mean it's good news." she tried to console herself by typing away. However, her happiness did not last long when the phone rang.

"Oh my god!" Kayla startled when she heard the melody of her ringtone. She quickly picked the phone up when she saw who was calling.

"Hello Chad?" Kayla answered.

"Hey Kayla!" Chad greeted, "I have some good news to share with you?"

"What is it?" Kayla asked, tried to hide any form of anxiety in her voice.

"I've spoken to Liam Robertson around half an hour ago, and apparently the only problem he has is his contract with Hotel Titan! I told him I will buy him out and he seemed content about it!" Chad informed.

"That's great!" Kayla heaved a sigh of relief. "I guess we will be able to get him out of Salem within the next few weeks!"

"Yes, this is getting good! Now that Will is getting out of Salem, we need to make sure that both Will and Abigail will leave Salem before Ben returns." Chad stated, "It's now a battle against time."

* * *

Liam was walking along Horton Town Square planning to go to daycare to pick Devon up.

"He must know something about my past." the blonde mumbled, "What exactly is… OW!" Liam knocked onto something and fell.

As he sat up, rubbing his forehead he saw an upright piano right before him, in the middle of Horton Town Square.

"What the hell is a piano doing in the middle of Horton Town Square?" Liam wondered. He went around to the front of the piano and saw a sign on the top of the piano.

 _ **Make someone's day! Let your music brighten up Horton Town Square!**_

This was the first time in ages he'd seen a piano. He used to love playing the piano back in New York. However, that all changed when his wife passed on. He'd still loved music as much as his wife but the thought of playing the piano would remind him of her. Thus, he would avoid playing the piano.

As Liam quickly took a seat on the rectangular piano stool, memories of Tameka came rushing through his head. He knew it was a bad idea to start tickling the ivories. However, He was so compelled by it he could not stop himself.

 _Liam Robertson was looking at the bills in complete distress_

" _Hey what's wrong babe?" Liam heard the voice from behind followed by a kiss on his forehead. He turned to his right to find his girlfriend smiling back at him._

" _Hey babe!" Liam greeted._

 _Tameka took the piece of paper Liam was holding and look through it._

" _Wow! That's a lot of bills you need to pay!" Tameka remarked._

" _I know," Liam sighed, "I'm still incurring some losses. I was hoping that we would be earning some profit by now." The blonde placed his elbow on the table, palm on his forehead._

" _Hey babe!" Tameka grabbed Liam's other hand. "Businesses are like this; they take time to make profits. Businesses don't become successful in just an instant."_

" _I'm living off whatever's left of the eight-hundred grand." Liam remarked, "I mean I started the restaurant with that money but I want to have some savings for whatever rainy day there is."_

" _It's gon be fine!" Tameka stated. She looked around the restaurant thinking of how to increase profits for the restaurant. She hated seeing her boyfriend so down and in despair. Spotting the mini podium at the corner of the restaurant, an idea came to mind._

" _You know what?" Tameka smiled, "I just got an idea that will turn this restaurant around!"_

At the thought of Tameka jovial smile, Liam grinned. The thought of his late wife's smile used to remove all his fatigue.

Liam stretched his fingers, he was hesitant to play the piano once more yet he decided to play a song which his wife often performed at gigs. When Liam and Tameka were dating, Liam took piano lessons so he would be able to duet with wife whenever she'd play the guitar. In her loving memory, he began singing the song.

 ** _It's been the longest winter without you_**  
 ** _I didn't know where to turn to_**  
 ** _See somehow I can't forget you_**  
 ** _After all that we've been through_**

 ** _Going coming thought I heard a knock_**  
 ** _Who's there no one_**  
 ** _Thinking that I deserve it_**  
 ** _Now I realize that I really didn't know_**  
 ** _If you didn't notice you mean everything_**  
 ** _Quickly I'm learning to love again_**  
 ** _All I know is I'm gonna be OK_**

Liam soon recalled how Tameka got people talking about his restaurant.

" _Babe! I don't know how to thank you!" Liam placed his hand over his girlfriend's shoulder and pulled her into a prolonged kiss._

" _Well, to be honest, I get more out of this!" Tameka laughed, "Firstly, I get paid, secondly, I can sell my EP in this restaurant and thirdly, me performing at the restaurant will get me more performing exposure!"_

" _It's truly a great idea informing your fans all over Facebook and Twitter about your new gigging spot!" Liam gave her another peck on her forehead. "Thanks babe!"_

" _Just killing two birds with one stone!" Tameka attacked Liam's lips, sticking her tongue into the blonde's throat._

 ** _Thought I couldn't live without you_**  
 ** _It's gonna hurt when it heals too_**  
 ** _It'll all get better in time_**  
 ** _And even though I really love you_**  
 ** _I'm gonna smile cause I deserve to_**  
 ** _It'll all get better in time_**

As Liam ended the song off, he heard quite a few people applauding. He looked up only to realize a large crowd surrounding him behind the piano.

Liam's cheeks went red, he felt flattered. Tameka often said he had a good voice but he didn't believe it. He felt that it was just how she saw her husband.

Liam saw a blonde college student walking through the crowd, walking towards him, hands still clapping.

"Wow! I didn't know you had that kind of talent!" Claire Brady complimented.

"Why, thank you!" Liam felt embarrassed by everyone's compliment.

"Seriously, you got some soul in you!" Claire praised, "I mean, I'm more of a country guy but I've never heard so much soul from a person since Justin Timberlake!"

Getting slight goosebumps from the compliment, Liam laughed. "My wife taught me how to sing."

"You know, my band and I are organising an open mic night next week!" Claire informed, "I would love for you to sing a few songs!"

"Really?" Liam felt even more shy than before. "I don't know maybe you should get someone else? I don't know about that?"

"Oh come on! Your piano skills are really good too!" Claire encouraged, "Just say yes! We need some fresh talent in Salem!"

"Ok I will think about it." Liam decided.

"Why bother thinking about it? You have such a great voice?!" They both heard a voice from behind.

Liam and Claire turned their heads.

"Greg, what are doing here?" Liam asked.

"I'm here and I'm mad at you!" Greg frowned. "We've been hanging out this past month and you never told me you could sing like that!"

Laughing awkwardly, Liam scratched his head. "I think I'm getting too much hype here!"

"No you aren't!" Greg cut him off, "When it comes to being a chef you are so confident! But you are like a completely different person when it comes to everything else!"

"Yeah!" Claire agreed, "Why are you so shy about your talent? That voice needs to be showcased. Come on! Make yourself available for next week please?" Claire tried to beg with her best puppy-dog eyes.

"Alright." Liam finally relented, but there are no guarantees.

* * *

A/N: I know I know I promised you the big revelation here but

I know this chapter is a bit draggy but I can assure you that this is for plot development.

So what do you think? Love it or hate it?! REVIEW! :D

Oh song that Liam is singing is 'Better in time' – Leona Lewis

To make up for me not keeping my promise about the big revelation, I'VE UPLOADED CHAPTER 22! YOU CAN CLICK THE 'NEXT' BUTTON ASAP! :D


	23. Chapter 22: No, this is impossible!

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

Kate Roberts was in her office trying to calm herself down before Basic Black's Spring/summer Fashion show. If she were truly honest with herself, she agreed with Kate and Theresa. Letting this person become a part of Basic Black's fashion show may be a big mistake. After all that he had done to her family, she should have been more careful. However, another investor pulled out and she was left with no choice.

The office telephone rang.

"Hello?" Kate answered.

"Hi Kate!" The voice replied.

"What do you want?" Kate questioned.

"Just wanted to make sure that I will have a plus one at the after-party." The voice said.

"Yeah yeah… I already made sure that there will be a plus one." Kate said in an annoyed tone.

"Ok, I will see you in just a few hours." Kate could hear him smiling through the phone.

* * *

Paul Narita had been living in guilt for the past few weeks. He had every opportunity to tell Sonny about him trying to kiss Liam but he was afraid to lose Sonny. He remembered five years ago when he slept with Will and how furious Sonny was.

"Now I'm the one who may lose Sonny." Paul sighed. He remembered the times Sonny came running to him after he and Will argued and the times when Will have confronted him about trying to steal Sonny away.

"Will must have felt worse." Paul sighed, "Not only did he have so much on the line, he also had Arianna. This must how he had felt." When he realized how much he loved Will, he asked himself how could he still pursue and wait for Sonny. At the same time, he wanted to help Will take care of Sonny and Arianna.

"Hey Paul!" Sonny greeted him with a hug. "So you ready for tonight?"

"It's just a fashion show, just need to make sure my tummy remains flat!" Paul laughed.

"Man, you're thirty-two! You aren't young anymore, don't you know your metabolism will slow down once you reach your thirties?" Sonny informed.

"Yeah, but I'm pretty good in shape!" Paul blatantly praised himself, "Aside from working out, I run around the baseball field teaching both elementary and high school students!" Paul began flexin his biceps, "Look at these guns, and that's coming from someone with a damaged arm!"

Sonny rolled his eyes, "Is that your way of flirting with me?" the brunette laughed.

"Is it working?" Paul asked devilishly.

After a few seconds, Sonny turned his head to one corner, giggling away.

"You know you are attracted to me!" Paul grabbed Sonny by the waist as he began tickling him all over.

* * *

"So Liam, what plans do you have tonight?" Greg asked.

"Oh nothing much, probably going to film a cooking video or something like that." Liam shrugged his shoulders.

"Scratch that," Greg ordered in a gentle but firm tone. "I got something better!"

"What is it?" Liam raised his eyebrow.

"Would you be my plus one?" Greg asked graciously.

"To what?" Liam shrugged his shoulders once more.

"To Basic Black's spring/summer fashion show!" Greg answered, "Seriously, did you not think I will invite you?" The chinese supermodel took a VIP pass out of his pocket and showed it to him.

"Um… I kinda need to take care of my son." Liam hesitated.

"So what, take the night off, get a babysitter!" Greg suggested, "I really want you here with me!"

As Sonny and Paul were still fooling around, someone caught their attention as they both look forward. A certain blonde chef. As they realized who he was standing beside, the smiles on both Sonny and Paul's faces disappeared. However, both knew that they were standing beside each other. The both of them settled to play it cool as they approached them.

"What the hell is he doing here with that?" Sonny grumbled inwardly.

"Hey Liam!" Sonny called out.

The blonde turned his head to see his boss. He saw both the brunette and the japanese baseball coach walking towards him. His smile disappeared as well. He noticed Paul looked very worried, as he should be.

"What are they doing here?" Liam wondered.

"Hey Liam, what are you doing here?" Sonny asked warily but tried to play it cool in front of Paul.

"Oh nothing," Greg answered, "we are going to get some froyo!" Greg pulled Liam into his arms by the waist and then placed his arm over the latter's shoulder.

"What the hell? Why is Liam letting this… perv touch him?" Paul frowned.

"Get your hands off him!" Sonny glared. He wanted to pushed Greg away so badly.

"Guess who I'm asking to be my plus one for tonight fashion show?" Greg smirked.

"You brought your girlfriend here? That's so sweet of you!" Sonny remarked with a subtle sarcastic smile. He knew the answer but he hoped he was wrong.

"No silly! I'm asking Liam to come along!" Greg rolled his eyes. "Could any of you try to convince him to go? He says he needs to take care of his son! I told him get a babysitter but he wouldn't listen!"

"Why should he go? The man has a kid!" Paul answered, "He's a father after all!"

"Why should he go with you?" Sonny huffed, attempting not to show his distaste.

Noticing Sonny and more importantly, Paul's reaction, Liam realized that they were both jealous. The last thing he'd expected were two gay guys dating each other getting jealous over him.

"It's not even that dramatic in telenovelas!" Liam wanted to dig a hole and hide his head in it. "But I promised Arianna that I would not come in between Kiriakis and Paul."

"You know what? You're right Greg!" Liam faced the chinese supermodel. "I think I can call a babysitter in then we can go off!"

"Perfect!" Greg rejoiced before turning his head to look at Sonny and Paul. "I will see you guys later!"

The brunette and the black-haired men gave Greg the death stare as the two strolled off.

* * *

"Hey gorgeous!" JJ gave his girlfriend a kiss.

"Hey babe! Thanks for taking care of Arianna for me!" Gabi said, "Make sure you will be there with Arianna around six!" she reminded. "Oh by the way, how's the DNA test going?"

"Shawn is still processing the DNA." JJ told Gabi. "But let's not think about that today, tonight's your night! Let's make the best of it!"

* * *

Nicole and Theresa were looking at the two posters on the computer screen. One poster had Paul in it and the other had Greg. Both were wearing the same outfit but they did not know which poster they should upload on Basic Black's Facebook page.

Paul walked into the fashion show venue, spotting Theresa and Nicole, he approached them.

"Hey guys! What's going on?" Paul asked.

"Hey… Paul!" Nicole hesitated when she realized who she calling her. Nicole and Theresa had constant problems over the past few weeks concerning Paul and Greg. Although Paul and Greg did not argue, the tension and sarcasm level between the two of them were extremely high. Theresa and Nicole were both conflicted as to who would showcase the main male piece. While Greg was more calm about the situation, Paul seemed more antsy and competitive.

"Should we tell him?" Theresa stared at Nicole.

"Might as well tell him now." Nicole nodded.

"Tell me what?" Paul asked.

"Remember when I asked you and Greg to wear the same piece?" Theresa said hesitantly, "That piece was actually the main piece for the male collection and frankly, I'm thinking about displaying Greg's photo instead of yours."

"What?" Paul asked in shock.

"Well if I have to be really honest," Nicole interjected, "Your photo does not do justice to the outfit. Plus, you're protruding your shoulders too much in the photo. Your facial expression here doesn't really match the outfit. Greg on the other hand has bring an edgier feel to the outfit."

"Are you kidding me?" Paul raised his voice, "I'm the face of Basic Black! I should be on the cover!"

"Now Paul, don't get too worked up now…" Theresa tried to calm Paul down.

"What's going on here?" Paul heard a voice from behind.

As Paul turned around he saw Greg strolling casually towards them with Liam trailing behind.

"Crap! Liam's here! Did he hear what I said?" Paul panicked.

"We are just deciding whether to use your photo or Paul's." Theresa informed.

"Well, I'm going with Greg's photo, it has more edge to it!" Nicole said. "Theresa?"

Looking at Paul glaring at her, Theresa chickened out. "On second thought, I think we should use Paul. He brings a…" Theresa looked up at the ceiling and thought for a second, "more clean-cut, more classic look!"

"Since Kate is not here, we need someone else to be our tie-breaker!" Nicole said. Looking at Liam standing behind Greg, she realized that she could get a second opinion from him.

"Hey you!" Nicole called out, "Why don't you be the tiebreaker? Tell us which photo you prefer!"

"Me?" Liam laughed nervously, pointing a finger at himself. "But I don't know anything about all these high-end fashion stuff!"

"Which is why you will be the perfect person to judge." Nicole grinned, "Come on tell me, from a public audience point of view, which photo would you think it' better?"

Liam felt the pressure on him. Despite the incident at Salem High weeks ago, Paul had been a good friend and someone who depended on him. That part of him wanted to be on Paul's side. On the other hand, Greg was a really fun companion who loves to cook and talk about entertainment with.

Liam looked through the two photos carefully. He did not know how to examine the photos?

Paul was nervous. Being the face of Basic Black was one matter, having Liam Robertson making that decision completely increased the stakes of outdoing Greg.

"I mean Paul looks great in the outfit, he brings a certain class and elegance to it! He looks extremely dashing in it." Liam commented.

Hearing Liam's complimented, Paul turned to Greg's direction, giving him a smirk.

"But I have to agree with Nicole. Fashion may be about elegance but there's something about Greg's mischievous smirk in the photo that brings a certain playfulness in the outfit. Greg makes it look like you can wear this outfit not just at the office but also at business events. At the same time, this outfit is casual enough to be worn on a Friday night out with your friends." Liam stated. "I will have to choose Greg especially if you are going for an audience on social media."

Paul's jaw dropped, he could not believe that he just got rejected. It hurt when the blonde slapped him a few weeks back. However, that could not compare to the anger he has towards his fellow colleague.

"Gee, thanks Liam! I'm flattered!" Greg turned his head to face Paul, flashing him a triumphant smile.

Paul glared even harder, he had never been so angry with anyone before.

* * *

Liam Robertson sat himself down on the front row. He was stunned when he saw Taraji P. Henson sitting beside him.

"Damn, it's Cookie Lyon!" Liam squealed, trying not to make himself so obvious. However, the african-american actresses heard him and turn around.

"Excuse me?" Taraji turned around, "You got a problem?" she raised her eyebrows, slanting the head to the side.

"I'm sorry," The blonde laughed nervously. "My wife and I love 'Empire' and we are so in love with Cookie!" Liam laughed even more.

"Oh I see you're an Empire fan!" Taraji smiled, "Well, I'm glad you love the show! Wait a minute, Aren't you Liam Robertson?"

"Wow! You know me?" Liam smiled, surprised.

"Believe it or not, I started a youtube channel which obviously no one knows about since I'm a public figure. I've subscribed to your channel!"

"Really!" Liam's smile grew even wider upon hearing the actress' compliment.

Looking at how the two interacted from across the runway, Sonny Kiriakis smiled. He enjoyed looking at how animated he was in front of the celebrity. Liam Robertson may be the splitting image of Will Horton, but they could not be any more different. Will is quiet while Liam is outspoken. Will would never step near the oven or the stove, Liam is a celebrity chef. Will would never go hysterical in front of a celebrity, Liam would. Despite them being completely different, Sonny felt at ease whenever he thought of Liam Robertson. He trusted him with the restaurant, he enjoyed his company. He even relished the times the chef rejected his advances.

A realization hit Sonny. He thought that he was only attracted to Liam Robertson because of how he looked, but he couldn't be more wrong.

"I'm falling in love with a straight man." Sonny confessed subconsciously.

* * *

Liam saw Paul strutting down the runway. The japanese was in a red sweater and maroon denims. As Paul turned around, Liam could not help himself as his eyes gradually scrolled downwards to Paul's buns.

"Why are you looking at his ass again? Snap out of it!" Liam chided himself, shaking his head vigorously.

* * *

"Hey Liam!" Greg greeted, "You enjoying the food?"

"Yeap!" Liam laughed, "Aside from supporting you, the only other reason why I'm here is the free food!"

"Well, there's another reason why I brought you here today." Greg confessed, "There's someone I would like you to meet!" Greg turned his head and nodded it before a man came over.

When Liam saw the man, his eyes widened. He never thought he would see such a huge name in the culinary world.

"Greg, long time no see!" The middle-aged man greeted, "So who is this man you want me to meet?"

"Liam," Greg turned his head back to the blonde, "I would like you to meet Martin Chan! Do I even need to introduce him to you?"

"Um… hi… um Mr Chan…" Liam stammered, "It's… really a pleasure to meet you!" the blonde was in awe.

"Liam Robertson!" Martin Chan, the renowned asian chef greeted, "I have heard great things about you from Greg! I've even subscribed to you on youtube! You're a natural talent!"

Liam's eyes widened, he tried to hold in any form restraint.

"Thank you!" Liam squeaked.

Greg laughed, "How can anyone be this adorable?" He thought to himself.

"Now if you excuse me, I have to get back to my wife!" The chef took his leave.

"I can't believe it…" Liam stared blankly into space.

"What can't you believe?" Greg asked.

"Martin Chan told me he subscribed to me…" Liam spoke softly, "Martin Chan... THE MARTIN CHAN!" The blonde jumped hysterically, not caring about his surroundings. He quickly pulled Greg into a fierce hug!

"Whoa… ok!" Greg surprised by the star-strucked

"Thank you so much!" Liam cried out.

Looking at them from a distance away, Sonny Kiriakis and Paul Narita frowned.

"Why is he all over that asshole?" They both rolled curled their hands into a fist.

"Hey Sonny! Paul! Great to see you here!" Abigail greeted.

"Paul! Great work on the runway" Chad complimented, standing beside his wife.

"Why thank you!" Paul laughed nervously.

Chad saw the look in both Sonny and Paul's eyes. He couldn't help but ask his wife to break the tension.

"Seriously, this again?" Chad wanted to laugh at himself.

"Excuse me, mind if you turn down the music and let me have a few words." The man told the DJ.

"Sure, no problem!" The DJ said.

"Hey, mic check mic check. Is this thing on?" The crowd heard a voice coming from the podium in front.

"Hey everyone! I hope that you guys are having a good time!" The man greeted everyone in the audience.

"What the hell is he doing up there?" Kate's furrowed in anger.

"For those who don't know me, I'm Clyde Weston. I'm one of the major investors of this fashion show and I want to say thank you all for coming! This show wouldn't be a success without all of you." The man announced.

Nicole and Theresa were dumbfounded.

"Kate said he would be on the DL!" Nicole wanted to find her corporate partner and punch her.

"I also want to share some good news with you guys!" Clyde smiled. "Five years ago, my son suffered from schizophrenia and he was admitted into an asylum. He went through a great ordeal and gone through depression during this time as well!"

"You have got to be kidding me!" Kate took out her cellphone dialling the number for security.

"But today, he's stronger than better than he has ever been!" Clyde exclaimed, "He has defied the odds and he's now a brand new person! Ladies and gentleman, please given it up for my son Ben Weston!"

As a younger brunette walked up the stage, with the spotlight shining on him, everyone stared at the two of them dumbfounded.

Ben took the mic from his father.

"Hello everyone! It's truly great to be back in Salem once again!" Ben laughed. "I can't believe so much has changed over the past five years!"

"No…" Abigail took a step back in disbelief. "You are not real… YOU'RE NOT REAL!" She shouted. "You're a sick bastard who deserves to die! You're not REAL!" She began trembling.

Liam's eyes widened when he looked at the younger man on stage. He took a few steps back as well in shock.

"No… no!" Liam shivered as memories started rushing through his head.

" _You should have just stayed away" Ben yelled as he suffocated Will._

"He's the man that strangled me." Liam realized.

"You son of a bitch!" Sonny stomped up the podium and threw a punch at Ben. "After all the pain you put me through you have the nerve to return! Give me back my husband!" He threw another punch.

Paul ran after Sonny, wrapped his arms around Sonny's waist and pulled him back.

"Sonny, NO!" Paul scolded.

"Don't stop him Paul! He deserves to die!" Abigail yelled in a loony state.

Liam shook his head vigorously in fear as more memories

" _As I give the ring, so I give thee my heart" Will made the promise to Sonny._

 _XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX_

" _Honesty hour, remember?" Sonny said before walking out the door._

 _XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX_

" _What about Ari?" Will begged_

" _Don't play that card with me!" Sonny barked._

As all the memories flood back into his heads, Liam's legs gave way. He collapsed to the ground.

"Liam, are you okay?" Greg asked, worried.

Liam stared at Paul trying to restrain Sonny from kicking the man. As more memories came igniting his brain.

" _I'm not trying to steal Sonny." Paul stated._

"Um… I'm fine. Just a little too dizzy from the alcohol." Liam lied. "I'm not feeling so well."

"Do you need me to take you home?" Greg asked.

"No, not at all." Liam assured. "I need to go." The blonde quickly scattered off.

* * *

As the blonde was running home, he tried to stop thinking. He did everything he could to stop recalling all these new memories in his head. However, they gushed through him one by one like a hurricane.

"No this is not happening." Liam trembled even more. He ran as fast as he could, trying to focus on the aching pain on his legs but to no avail.

As soon as he reached home he quickly ran into the kitchen and poured himself a glass of water.

"No this is impossible… IMPOSSIBLE!" Tears start to flow down Liam's cheeks as he shouted.

The last thing he'd expect when he came to Salem was to know who he truly was. All he wanted was to live a simple life with his son and stay employed. He wanted to move on from the passing of his wife. That was his only goal.

"This is insane, this is crazy!" Liam remarked, as he began weeping. "Stop it, just stop it!" He scolded himself for having more flashes in his head.

His heart was telling him that this was a nightmare. His heart was saying this was a bad joke, but at the end of the day his mind got the better of him as he realized the shocking truth.

"I… am… Will Horton." Liam stated, bawling away.

* * *

A/N: Now we are going somewhere! I want to say thank you to everyone who waited 22 chapters for this moment. I really didn't mean to drag it out that much but ideas kept on flowing in and I wanted to show Liam's personality a lot more! I hope you enjoyed the 'Empire' reference too lol! :P

Please REVIEW! :D

So Liam finds out he really is Will Horton, what will happen next? Stay tuned! :D


	24. Chapter 23: That Green Day concert

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

After the disastrous fashion show, Chad DiMera had to bring his wife to the hospital. Seeing Ben Weston had triggered Abigail. His wife was not able to calm down until the doctor forced her to eat a few pills of sedatives.

"How is my daughter right now?" Jennifer asked the doctor anxiously.

"It took a while for her to calm down but she is sleeping right now." The doctor informed. "You can go see her now but try not to wake her up."

Chad, Jennifer and JJ rushed into the room to check on Abigail.

"I should've have never let her return to Salem!" Chad chided himself. "If I knew that Ben Weston came back, I wouldn't have even step into this town!" Tears flowed down Chad's cheeks as he cupped his wife's face.

Jennifer placed his hand on Chad's shoulder. "Hey! It's not your fault! You did the best you can!" She comforted. "We all didn't see that coming."

Chad wished he could blame the Westons for everything that had happen. However, he already knew that Ben was on the loose yet he still did not do enough to prevent his wife from falling into a relapse.

"This is my fault." Chad said as tear flowed down his cheeks.

"Stop saying it's your fault." JJ dissuaded, "What we need to do right now is to make sure that Abby and Thomas leaves Salem asap."

"Chad, you have been here the whole night. You should go back home and take some rest." Jennifer advised.

"No, I'm staying here with Abigail. The last time I left her alone, Ben snuck into the DiMera mansion." Chad refused.

"Chad, this is a hospital. There are people all around here twenty-four seven." JJ noted. "How about this, I'll stay here until the morning until she comes around. I will tell you if anything bad happens to her."

Looking at his brother-in-law, Chad knew that JJ has become an experienced police officer. He should not put the whole world on his shoulders.

"Ok JJ," Chad relented, "I will come back in the morning to see how she is." Chad turned to Jennifer "Take care of her. JJ I would like to talk to you outside."

* * *

Liam Robertson was in the shower. He was scrubbing his scalp over and over.

"No, I'm not Will Horton. This is just a nightmare!" The blonde told himself repeatedly.

As more memories came through his head, more tears flowed down his cheeks.

"Stop it, just stop!" Liam leaned against the wall, slowly collapsing. He hugged his knees and continued weeping, letting the shower run.

* * *

"So what's up?" JJ asked.

"You said that this Liam Robertson guy might actually be Will. I want to how you're going with the investigation." Chad asked.

JJ pondered for a few seconds. He did not want Chad to do anything crazy or impulsive. The DNA results were also not ready yet.

"No, Shawn's right. We can't tell anyone about this, not before the DNA results are out." JJ thought.

"It's been hard trying to get Liam's DNA." JJ answered. "He's rarely around and when he's around he drops off Devon and leaves." He sighed.

"Ok." Chad felt more relieved, discovering Will's true identity would lead to even more disaster. "Have you thought about what to do with him now that Ben has returned?"

"I don't know about that just yet, just thinking about Abby is already tough enough." JJ sighed.

"We need to protect him from Ben. Who knows what Ben might do next. He's may just terrorize Liam for no reason!" Chad noted.

"You're right, I'm planning to get someone to protect him." JJ stated, "You know protect him from the background."

"No!" Chad violently objected, realizing he was about to expose himself.

"Why? What's wrong?" JJ asked, he was puzzled by Chad expression.

"I mean," Chad laughed slightly, "I think focusing on Abby is a priority. Second, I don't want you to use too much of your police connections, I'm afraid you will get into trouble."

JJ nodded in acknowledgement. He just got a promotion, he did not want to jeopardize his career.

"I see, alright then. I guess I can leave him into your hands." JJ smiled. "Thanks for taking care of Liam."

"No problem, I need to look out for you too." Chad smiled. "You're family!"

"I need to get Liam out of Salem NOW!" Chad worried in his mind.

* * *

Liam Robertson was despondent and loss. He sat lying in his bed looking forlorn. He'd stared blankly at the ceiling as his past life continued to flash before his eyes.

"Please stop… just stop!" The blonde pleaded dejectedly. He was done crying and panicking, it seemed that all his efforts were futile. Still, he had a glimpse of hope that none of it were true.

He recalled the times he was driven to desperation; the various secrets he hid from Jackson Kiriakis. How the brunette broke up with him when he impregnated Gabi, how they fought Nick Fallon for Arianna's custody and so much more.

"I'm not Will Horton, I'm not." The blonde chanted repeatedly in a soft tone until he was able to fall asleep.

* * *

"I can't believe that he has the nerve to come back to Salem after all these years!" Sonny growled.

"Sonny, you need to calm down!" Paul tried to alleviate Sonny's anger, placing his hand over Sonny's shoulder.

"Do you know what a horrible death Will suffered?" Sonny said with distaste. "He spent the last two months of his life sending me countless phone messages and telling me how much he misses me and I ignored them all!" Tears started flowing down Sonny's cheeks at the thought of not seeing Will one last time. "I never got the chance to tell him how much I love him." Sonny looked down and covered his eyes as he wept.

Paul pulled Sonny into a hug. He knew that Will would always be a part of Sonny's heart. If Paul were to be honest with himself, one of the reasons he was not able to hate Will was that he was a sweet kind young man. He admitted that he drove Will to desperation. If the tables were turned, he would have done the same. Strangely enough, it was one of the reasons that made Paul love Will more. Will loved Sonny so much he'd pull all the stops at whatever the cost.

Not knowing what to say, Paul hugged Sonny even tighter, trying to console him.

* * *

"This is a disaster!" Kayla raised her voice, "What the hell are we going to do?"

"Sweetness, calm down." Steve placed his hand on his wife's shoulder. "We still need to think about Will."

"Abigail is now in the hospital and she has suffered from a relapse." Kayla pointed out the obvious. "What have I done? We should have just told them the truth when Will was revived!"

"Sweetness, we can't tell anyone yet!" Steve objected, "If word gets out, who knows what would Clyde Weston and his son will do!"

"But we have to get Will out of Salem now! Look at what they did to Abigail!" Kayla lamented.

Both of them jumped a little when the door opened.

"Hey guys! I need to speak to you right now." Chad quickly shut the door.

"Yeah… it's about time you arrived." Steve said sarcastically, "Where have you been for the past few hours? Kayla is worried sick!"

"Excuse me but I had a bigger issue to worry about. My wife aka. your niece just had a relapse!" Chad rebutted.

"Guys enough, this isn't the time to argue." Kayla chided both of them before turning to Chad. "How's Abigail?"

"The doctors made her eat sedatives. She went ballistic." Chad lamented. "Gosh, she has made so much progress from the past five years and now she's back to square one!"

"I will make sure that her room is protected." Kayla assured.

Chad nodded. "Now we have to think about getting Will out."

"I heard that you're offering him a contract to New York." Steve said, "Has he agreed to it yet?"

"No, but he seemed more than happy when I told him that I will buy him out of his current contract with Titan Industries." Chad noted.

"That's not good enough, we need him to sign the contract now and get him out of Salem NOW." Steve emphasized.

"You think I've not been doing that?" Chad rebutted, "All I have done was to try to get him out of Salem without trying to trigger his memory. Weren't you supposed to get information on Ben Weston and keep him out of Salem?"

"That's enough you two!" Kayla scolded. "We have to get Will and Abigail to safety. Abigail is in the hospital which leaves Will." Kayla turned to Chad "Get him to sign the contract tomorrow."

* * *

"Hey guys, just in we've got a reservation for twenty coming in." Sonny informed as he walked into the kitchen. Realizing the head chef is absent, he turned his head to look around.

"Where's Liam?" Sonny asked in disappointment.

"He ain't here today, he's feeling sick." Leah replied.

"Oh." Sonny said.

"Maybe I should go pay him a visit after work." Sonny thought to himself.

* * *

Liam Robertson sat by the sofa, watching the cartoons on Disney channel with Devon. He was doing his best to get rid of all the pain. The pain of the memories, the feelings of desperation and the lack of will to live.

As Devon was laughing to the theme song of 'Little Einstein', Liam did his best to try to sing along to it. However, all his efforts were to no avail.

Liam remembered how he cheated on Sonny Kiriakis with Paul Narita, how he resorted to unscrupulous means to keep Sonny away from Paul.

"What kind of horrible person I am?" Liam felt so disgusted with himself. He did not know that he could be such so promiscuous, unfaithful and scheming.

On the other hand, he felt so lost and alone. He felt the pain and struggle. The sense of desperation was slowly creeping back into him. The thought of losing Sonny to Paul Narita were forming up like big stormy clouds on the verge of raining.

The only difference between the circumstances then and now, he was not on the verge of losing Sonny to Paul, he had already lost him to Paul.

"This is absurd." Liam felt as if a knife was thrusted into his heart. His worst fears had come true, Paul Narita and his husband, dating, seeing each other.

"They are now dating each other…" Liam remarked as he began giggling away. "They're dating." The blonde repeated. The giggle soon turned into a laughter and the laughter grew louder and louder. As tears started flowing down his cheeks, the laughter soon turned into raspy bawling.

"This can't… be real," Liam stammered between sobs, "Please God, tell me this is all a joke!" He began crying out. "Please tell me I'm not Will Horton."

* * *

Sonny Kiriakis sat in his office with holding the iPhone 8 to his ear. He had been trying to contact his head chef for the past hour and a half.

"Where the hell is he?" Sonny grumbled. He was getting worried that something bad might happen.

* * *

"Please pick up the phone…" Chad groaned, feeling both anxious and annoyed. Chad DiMera had been trying to reach Liam all morning but to no avail.

"Ugh, this is useless!" Chad threw his Samsung S10 on the sofa. "Where could he be at right now?" Before he could continue lamenting, the doorbell.

"Danita, get that!" Chad called his new housekeeper in frustration as he fell back onto the sofa. He picked up his cellphone and started texting away.

"Mr DiMera, your nephew and his girlfriend are here." Danita informed while the two are standing behind.

"Hey Uncle Chad!" Theo greeted, giving him a hug.

"Hey Theo, hey Ciara!" Chad greeted back, "Thanks so much for babysitting Thomas on such short notice! Jennifer's in the hospital and I can't find anyone else to take care of him."

"No problem!" Ciara assured, "You should run to the hospital and check on Abby."

"I will do just that, thanks for everything again!" Chad quickly took his leave.

* * *

After Liam changed Devon's diapers, he went back to his bedroom and unplugged his cellphone from the charger.

"Twenty missed calls?" Liam groaned, "Who could be calling me?" Annoyed, he swiped his phone to see who called him.

 _ **Stalker - 10 missed calls**_

 _ **Chad Dimera – 9 missed calls**_

 _ **Withheld ID – 1 missed call**_

 _ **1 new message – Chad DiMera**_

Looking at the phone registry stunned him. He panicked at the thought of Jackson Kiriakis trying to contact him. That was just something that was not on his mind right now, just dealing with his past is hard enough.

"I need to get some sleep." Liam decided as he began fluffing up his pillows. His heart was heavy and he was exhausted from the overload of memories. As he placed the pillows on his bed, the phone rang once more.

"Seriously, can't y'all just give me a break?" Liam was getting more frustrated by the second. He picked up the phone and saw who was calling.

 _ **Chad Dimera calling…**_

"Chad…" Liam said his name with wariness. Chad DiMera, the person he grew up with since high school. The person whom he competed with for the affections of various girls. The same person whom soon became his best friend after the thick and thin they had been through. The person whom lied to him about saving him from a restaurant fire. Just recalling about his past marriage was tough enough, but now he had been forced to think about the man who lied to him this entire time.

Liam contemplated on swiping 'reject' across the iPhone for a few seconds, but decided to go against his own wishes. He took a deep breath before swiping right across the screen.

"Hello?" The blonde answered.

"Liam!" Chad greeted with a laugh, "Hi! About the contract, I was wondering whether you have made a decision."

"Hello Chad." Liam greeted in a mellow tone. "I was just about to call you."

Hearing Liam Robertson's voice, Chad could sense there was something wrong.

"I'm sorry, if this a bad time to call you we can talk later." Chad apologized.

"No, it's nothing." Liam assured. "I was actually thinking whether we can meet up today."

"Sure, I would like to discuss more terms if you're not happy!" Chad compromised. "Shall we meet tonight?"

"Yeah, sure." Liam agreed.

"You know, I'm not at the office today so why don't we go to Chez Rouge for dinner. I need to give a renowned chef quality food."

"You put me on the pedestal Chad." Liam laughed, "But I don't think I would be free for dinner. I would be free for a cup of hot chocolate or something. Can't take caffeine at night."

"Great! We can go to a café which sells really good mocha…" Chad was about to suggest before he got cut off.

"No need for all that trouble, since you're not at work today why don't I just go over to your place? Saves all that trouble." Liam countered.

A cold shudder suddenly crept through Chad, that was when he realized…

"He suspects something." Chad thought to himself.

"Sure!" Chad laughed. "I will text you my address! Looking forward to see you!"

Chad put down the phone. When he turned around, he jumped.

"What the hell!" Chad startled, "JJ don't creep behind me like that!"

"Why were you talking to Liam?" JJ questioned.

Chad let out a laugh, "Why would I not have a conversation with Liam?" Chad put on a strong façade.

"Why are you involved with him?" JJ interrogated.

"Relax, relax!" Chad patted JJ's shoulder. "It's business!" He stretched the word. "DiMera Enterprises want him to be our spokesperson for our upcoming cookware!"

"And why do you have to choose him?" JJ asked.

"I sent him a contract a few months ago, I told him to look through it!" Chad explained in an annoyed tone. "Seriously, you need to chill!"

"Oh!" JJ said in acknowledgment.

"JJ this is a hospital; you should be careful with what you're saying!" Chad reminded.

"Sorry, I'm just really worried." JJ explained.

"We are all worried here." Chad countered. "But for the sake of Abby, Thomas and even Liam we need to remain calm."

* * *

Liam Robertson sat on his couch. He took the contract for DiMera Enterprises from the coffee table and skimmed through the contents.

"Chad DiMera," The blonde flipped through the pages. "You want me out because you want to hide your dirty little secret didn't you? What exactly do you have up your sleeve?"

Liam put down the contract down and picked a glass of milk and a piece of cookie.

"You wanna play this game?" Liam sniggered, "Game on."

* * *

"Mr DiMera, a Liam Robertson is here to see you." Danita informed.

Chills sent down Chad's spine, he did not know why he was tense up.

"Relax, nothing has happened yet." Chad tried to calm himself down. It was a good thing he told Theo and Ciara to bring Thomas to the garden to gaze at the stars.

The blonde chef walked into the living room with a devilish grin on his face. There was something really different about him. Usually Liam Robertson would come off as loud, cheerful and happy-go-lucky. However, Chad felt a completely different aura exuded.

"Something isn't right, I can feel it." Chad hesitated.

"Liam!" Chad greeted, putting on a strong front. "Welcome to my humble home! What would you like to drink?"

"Some red wine would do." Liam replied calmly.

"Danita, pour a glass of red wine." Chad ordered, "Don't stand in on the ceremony, make yourself feel at home!"

Liam took a seat on the beige sofa while Chad took a seat on his armchair.

"So I would like to know how's your day been?" Chad asked.

"Oh it's been great." Liam smiled, "At first I had…" Liam rubbed the side of his forehead with two fingers, "a little migraine. I mean after that fiasco last night plus the alcohol, I couldn't sleep properly."

Chad's heart was beating faster by the second.

"He's not himself today." Chad was feeling colder by the second.

"Yeah that was… quite a night." Chad laughed with a lace of guilt in in voice.

"You know there was something very familiar about those two on stage at the after-party." The blonde remarked.

Chad took in a big gulp. "Say, why don't I let you take a listen to my CD collection. I have plenty!"

"Ooh you're a music fan, now that's something we both have in common." Liam smiled.

"Really, you're from New York. I heard the music scene is huge." Chad tried to change the subject.

"Indeed, the music scene in New York is just so vibrant and lively." Liam decided to go on with the small talk, "My wife was a musician, she brought me to the best music scenes in the city. She taught me everything about the blues, shown me the world of great artists such as James Brown, Billie Holliday and Otis Redding."

"Your wife must have been a great musician." Chad said.

"She was, not only was she a great musician in terms of knowledge, she was also a fantastic composer and was the director of the church choir. She had a voice like Christina Aguilera and played the guitar like Santana."

"Sounds like a true talent to me." The brunette complimented.

"My wife grew up with urban music and she really brushed off a lot of me." Liam took a sip of his red wine. "Although soul, R&B, funk and gospel has become a staple of mine." Liam picks up the remote control and began scrolling through the playlist of songs, "I still have a deep love for pop/rock and grunge music." The blonde saw an artist that caught his eye, "Let's listen to this" he pressed 'enter' on the remote as the music started playing.

Chad turned his eyes towards the TV. His eyes widened as he saw the artist that was selected.

"Green Day." Chad laughed awkwardly, "good choice!"

"Shit, Will and I used to sing to Green Day when we were in high school." Drops of perspiration flowed down the brunette's forehead. "We even went to the concert together!"

"21 Guns, boy this is such amazing track!" Liam exclaimed. "One of the best by Green Day!" He turned towards Chad before flashing him a grin. He was about to speak with the Illinois accent he was born and raised with for the first time in years.

"We had the time of our lives at that concert didn't we?" Liam questioned.

Chad DiMera's jaw dropped. He could not believe what had just happened, all his efforts to get his best friend out of Salem had come to nothing. He fell further back onto his armchair.

"What are you talking about?" Chad asked, hands now trembling.

"The Green Day concert we went to in high school. You and me" Liam clarified, "Don't you remember? Because I remembered you screaming your lungs out to 'Wake me up when September ends'."

"What are you talking about?" Chad questioned once more.

"I'm reminiscing the good times we shared in high school!" The blonde giggled, "How we fought over Mia and Gabi. Those were great times."

Chad DiMera was petrified, aside from Ben kidnapping Abigail, his worst nightmare had come true.

"Did you think you can just throw me a sum of money to leave Salem?" Liam began firing questions and his smile faded away. "Did you think for a second that I won't find out who I truly am? Did you think I will just happily accept your offer and go back to New York? Did you think that I will just blindly sign a contract without knowing what the catch is? Do you take me for an idiot?!" Liam was now raising his voice at the top of his lungs.

Chad was a DiMera. He thought that his father and his brothers were the scariest people he had ever seen. However, he never thought that someone outside his family would frighten him to his wits' end.

"You were the man that said I was caught in a restaurant fire. You were the man that sent me to New York, and you got the nerve to say you have no idea who I am." Liam spat the words out with venom. "You took me away from life in Salem. Who died and gave you the right TO CONTROL MY LIFE?!"

Chad now had a look of remorse on his face.

"Why are you looking like that?" Liam questioned, "I have been living a lie for the past five years! Why are you looking like that?"

"I'm sorry." Chad apologized.

"You're sorry?" Liam scorned as tears were flowing down cheeks. "You knew this entire time who I truly was and you pretended like nothing happened?"

"I did it for your own good…" Chad tried to explain.

"My own good… my own good?" Liam dared the brunette to repeat himself. "Lie to everyone including me that I'm…" The blonde tried to bring himself to say it. "That I am indeed…" Liam tried to take in a few more breaths in between sobs, "That I am after all, Will Horton?"

Before Chad could approach Liam to console him, the two of heard glass shattering on the floor.

Chad and Liam turned their heads. They saw pieces of broken glass and china together with a puddle of milk and cookies.

As they scrolled their eyes up, they both saw the black baseball pitcher staring at them in shock, mouth gaping.

* * *

A/N: So what do you think? Please tell me what you think REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW! 3

Thanks for reading! :D


	25. Chapter 24: To tell or not to tell

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

Sonny Kiriakis was strolling along the corridors of his head chef's apartment. Early that day, he specifically ordered the sous chefs to brew chicken soup and remove all the meat from the chicken drumsticks.

Carrying a long circular insulated lunchbox, Sonny was hoping that the blonde would be touched for bringing him supper.

"I hope he's doing fine." The brunette worried. As he reached the doorstep, he rang the doorbell.

"Hey Liam! I was wondering…" Sonny cut himself when he saw the person who opened the door.

"How much for the pizza?" an Asian-american answered before giving Sonny a second look.

"Greg!" Sonny startled. "What are you doing here? Where's Liam?"

"Don't tell me he and Liam… No, it's not what you think." Sonny tried to gain his composure, making an effort to hide all discontent.

"I'm babysitting his son, Devon." Greg stated, "He had this urgent business meeting he needed to attend to and he couldn't find a babysitter."

* * *

"Theo! Where are the milk and cookies?" The three heard a voice coming from outside. Ciara walked through the entrance holding a picnic mat on one hand and little TJ with her other hand. She saw the puddle of milk and shattered pieces of glass and cookies on the floor before rushing to her boyfriend's aid.

"Theo! You're so careless!" Ciara gently chided, "Are you ok?" she took Theo's finger and examine his finger cut. "Danita!" She called out.

"Yes Miss Ciara?" The housekeeper ran towards the hallway.

"Grab a mop and a broom and clean this up" Ciara ordered.

"I'm sorry, I was so careless." Theo apologized.

"I will go get some bandages." Ciara informed before running off to the kitchen.

In distraught, Liam Robertson headed for the main entrance without a word.

"Liam, Liam! Wait! Give me a chance to explain!" Chad caught up and grabbed his shoulder.

"What is there to explain?" The blonde shoved his hand aside before turning around. "You ruined my life!" He pointed a finger before poking his chest. "I'm your dirty little secret and you want me out of Salem. Isn't that clear enough?" He turned his back on Chad and stomped off.

"Please come back! Liam… Liam!" Chad begged as Liam disappeared from his sight.

"So it is true." Chad heard a voice from behind him.

Chad looked behind, he remembered that he still had to deal with his nephew. If he had known better, he would have told Theo and Ciara to take TJ on a night out. He quickly walked towards Theo and grabbed his shoulders.

"Theo I need you to listen to me." Chad sternly instructed. "No one, I mean no one is to hear a single word about this!"

"Is that man really…" Theo wanted to clarify.

"Listen to me!" Chad shook Theo, whispering intensely. "If word gets out about this, Liam and Abigail will be in deep trouble!"

"So you're telling me he is…" Theo tried asking once more.

"Who's what?" The two heard a Ciara coming down from the stairs with a first-aid box.

"Oh Ciara!" Chad hesitated, "I was… just telling Theo that TJ has been dying to try the latest Nutella-flavoured ice-cream" He took out his wallet and gave a few dollar notes to Ciara. "Go and apply a band-aid on Theo and bring TJ out for ice-cream!"

Chad turned his head back to Theo. Widening his eyes, he gave Theo a silent warning.

* * *

"Hey Greg!" Liam greeted, "Thanks so much for taking care of Devon! It really means so much to me that I can find a sitter at such short notice!"

"No big!" Greg assured. "Devon was really easy to take care of. He went off like a lightbulb!"

"Really?" Liam was stunned. "All the other sitters have said that they had to rock him to sleep for an hour!"

"I guess he really likes me." Greg flashed a winning smile. "You know, if you're ever looking for a Godfather…"

"Really?" Liam laughed. "I've known you for like a month or two and you want me to be my son's godfather? Aren't you getting a little ahead of yourself?"

"Your kid is adorable, just like his daddy." Greg flashed Liam a seductive smirk causing Liam to blush.

"Are you trying to flirt with me?" Liam asked.

"Isn't it obvious?" Greg gave an eyebrow flash, bouncing them up and down.

Feeling a little bashful, Liam looked away and tried to change the subject. "Say, I really want to thank you for helping me take care of Devon. How about I take you out for dinner or something? My treat!"

"As lovely as that sounds," Greg laughed, "I think you should have some rest. I noticed the dark circles on your face. You haven't been sleeping well, have you?" he pulled the blonde out of the couch and the two headed to the kitchen. Greg pulled out the chair for Liam to sit on.

"What are you doing?" Liam turned his head to see where he was going.

"I want to have dinner right here with you, at home." Greg took two bowls from the cabinet and started pouring chicken noodle soup into the bowls. "Here's some warm chicken noodle soup for your soul." Greg placed the two bowls on the table.

Feeling cold and hungry, Liam picked up the spoon and took a mouthful.

"This is pretty good!" Liam nodded his head, impressed. "You made this?"

"I wish I did!" Greg replied. "But I didn't, your boss Sonny was here earlier."

Liam dropped the spoon back into the bowl.

"He was here?" Liam asked warily.

"He asked about you and said that you shouldn't be going out when you're sick." Greg delivered the message.

"I'm not very hungry anymore." Liam leaned back on the chair. "Sorry for being so rude, but I'm getting really tired." He sighed, "I think it's time for you go."

Realizing that he struck a nerve, Greg leaned in closer. "I'm sorry, did I do something wrong?"

"No, trust me." Liam quickly shook his head, "it's not you. You have been such a great friend for hanging out with me and even help me take care of my son." Liam cleared the misunderstanding.

Thinking of what he just said, Greg asked "Is it Sonny? What has he done to you?"

"Trust me, it's nothing." Liam lied, "The man just gets under my skin on a daily basis. There's not a day he doesn't get on my nerve."

"How?" Greg asked.

"Would love to explain it to you, but I'm too annoyed by him." Liam replied, trying not to come off as rude.

"Then can I finish the rest of the chicken soup?" Greg asked, "I don't like to waste food"

"Go ahead! I'm taking a shower." Liam said before washing away.

* * *

"Ok, you can do this." Liam Robertson kept reminding himself as he walked into the restaurant. He knew he had to get back to work eventually. "Ok just breathe… and pretend like it's any other day at work."

After changing into his uniform, he headed into the kitchen and greeted his sous chef.

"Hey Liam!" When Liam heard his boss' voice, he froze. He was unable to make any movement.

"Why are you still standing here? He's clearly walking towards you. Move, MOVE!" The head chef chided himself.

"Hey Liam! How are you feeling?" Sonny placed his arm over the chef's shoulder and pulled him close.

Liam felt a chill going down his spine as a tsunami of emotions drowned him. He missed Jackson Kiriakis' touch. He longed for this intimate embrace, for him to caress his skin and to never let him go.

However, the other part of him is fuming badly. That part of him wanted to scream at Jackson Kiriakis for trying to flirt with him while dating Paul Narita. He could not believe that even after five years, the brunette wanted to have his cake and eat it.

"Did you like the chicken soup I made yesterday?" Sonny asked.

Not looking at Sonny, Liam proceeded to take a bowl from the cabinet and a few eggs on the table and started cracking them.

Sonny placed his hand on Liam's forehead to check how he was feeling before the blonde grabbed his wrist and threw it down.

"Leave me alone." Liam said softly but sternly before whisking the eggs away.

"What's wrong with you? What happened?" Sonny began feeling worried.

"Nothing happened." Liam replied as he carried the bowl and began to walk away.

"Hey, what's wrong with you?" Sonny grabbed the blonde's shoulder and turned him around.

"I told you nothing's…" Liam accidentally drop the bowl as beaten raw egg splattered all over him.

"Now look at what you've done!" Liam yelled.

Sonny looked at the puddle of mess on the floor before looking back up at Liam.

"I'm sorry, I…" Sonny tried apologizing.

"For just one day…" The blonde chef raised a finger in the air, "just twenty-four hours… could you not be yourself? COULD YOU NOT BE YOURSELF FOR TWENTY-FOUR HOURS?! Could you stop flirting with me, hitting on me and touching me for ONE DAY?" He screamed. "Because newsflash, you ain't the flyest homo in town! YOU'S A HOT ASS MESS!"

Liam turned to look at his sous chef. "And the four of you, if the ingredients aren't ready by the time I get back, all of you will clean the kitchen for the rest of the week!" He untied his half-apron and tossed it to the side while stomping out of the kitchen.

Sonny was used to Liam rejecting to his flirtatious advances and sarcastic remarks. However, Sonny had never seen Liam this agitated before.

"What's up with him?" Sonny wondered.

* * *

Liam went into the locker room and fell on to the chair. He quickly shut his eyes, reminding himself not to cry over his creepy perverted boss.

"He's not worth your tears," He mumbled to himself. "He left you and Arianna in the lurch. Stop crying for him!"

* * *

Sami Brady and Lucas Horton was wrapped around in each other's embrace on the bed. If it were not for the sheets over them, they would have been completely bare.

"Thank God the kids are back in LA!" Sami grinned from ear to ear.

"We definitely do not want them to see us like this!" Lucas let out a giggle before giving his ex-wife a peck on her forehead.

"Until last night, I've never realized how much I have missed you." Sami confessed. "As I began getting over EJ's death, I started to think about you more and more. I realized that I still love you, even after all these years apart."

Placing his left hand on Sami's cheek, Lucas looked into her blue eyes. "Leaving Adrienne was one of the worst things that ever happened to me. Adrienne broke my heart when she told me she still loved Justin. Which was when I started travelling to LA to visit you guys more often." He began examining Sami's features from her blonde hair all the downwards to her swelling rosy red lips from all the kissing.

"By spending time with you and the kids, you helped me move on from all that misery. You helped me get out of that hellhole. You saved me." Lucas thanked.

"I saved you?" Sami turned away and giggled before looking back at Lucas. "When I moved to LA, all I could think about was the kids. Otherwise, I would be buried in work. It was you that help me get over me grieving for EJ. You have also been a great father to Johnny and Sydney. If anything, it was you who saved me."

"I guess we pulled each other out of misery then!" Lucas let out a small laughter before gliding his lips around Sami's neck. Sami let out a moan arousing Lucas. Lucas slowly proceeded to Sami's lips and quickly stick in his tongue into her throat." Sami was about flip Lucas around and take control of the situation when she heard her phone ringing.

"Really? At this time?" Sami pulled away, complaining.

"Get off me, this might be work!" Lucas got off Sami, grumbling at the moment being ruined.

"Hello?" Lucas answered.

"Hello, I'm looking for Lucas Horton?" The man asked.

"Yes, speaking." Lucas said.

"Hello, I'm Ryan St. James calling from Salem Cemetery regarding the grave of your son, Will Horton." The man on the phone stated.

"Who is it?" Sami asked.

"It's Salem Cemetery." Lucas pulled the phone away before answering Sami. "It has something to do with Will's grave."

"What about the grave?" Lucas asked as he got back to the phone.

"We would like to talk to you about it in person. This is an issue that will affect graves located at area D to F of Salem Cemetery and we need to seek your approval." Ryan informed.

"Ok, I will be there." Lucas acknowledged before hanging up.

"What's all that about?" Sami asked.

"According to him, he needs us to go to cemetery to discuss some details. He said this has to do with cemeteries located between area D to area F." Lucas said.

"Sounds serious." Sami said, "Let's go."

* * *

After lunch, Liam Robertson decided to apologize to his boss for going off at him earlier. He was indeed angry with him, but railing at him was both unprofessional and unethical. He took a deep breath before knocking on the door.

"Come in!" He heard the voice before entering.

"Hi." The blonde greeted meekly.

"Hi." The brunette greeted back. He was amused that the blonde would make the first move after giving him a piece of his mind. "What brings you here?"

"I just wanna say I'm sorry for yelling at you earlier." Liam apologized, "I wasn't in the right state of mind."

"Take a seat." Sonny told Liam.

Liam slowly walk towards the chair opposite Sonny and sat down.

"Look, I'm sorry, I really don't know what happened to me. I just…" Liam trailed off when Sonny reached for his hand.

"You seem different." Sonny stated worriedly, "What's wrong?"

Liam wanted to shove Sonny's hand away. However, he did not want to cause another bad riff between them.

"If there's anything going wrong, just let it out." Sonny told Liam.

Liam felt like an anchor was dragging his heart down. How could he tell Jackson Kiriakis the truth? Just dealing with the fact that he is actually Will Horton is already too much to deal with.

"I can't, not now." Liam decided before pulling his hand away.

"I'm just feeling a little stressed out lately." Liam flashed a wistful smile, "Devon's appetite has changed and I'm kind of homesick, I miss my family."

"Is that it? Anything else?" Sonny asked once more.

Liam looked at Sonny warily for a few seconds.

"Nope, there's nothing else." Liam answered.

Sonny knew he was lying, but he didn't want to probe any further. "Ok just so you know, you always have a friend in me to count on! Don't leave all your troubles to yourself. Tell me ok?"

Liam nodded his head before standing up and leaving Sonny's office.

"What's gotten into him?" Sonny wondered.

* * *

Theo Carver was plodding his way to Salem High. During baseball season, Theo would always be travelling around the country, sleeping in a different hotel room every night without much time to return to Salem.

When it's off-season Theo would spend the time giving pep talks to aspiring baseball players. Often, he will visit Salem High as a mentor to the younger generation. Aside from that, Theo also love spending time with Paul. Over the years, Paul has been like a big brother to him, encouraging and guiding him to become the best baseball pitcher he could be. He would always look to Paul for advice be it baseball or whenever he faced relationship problems with Ciara.

Today however, was not one of those days.

After discovering the shocking secret the night before, he was unsure of what to do. Keeping secrets was not something he was good at. Just hiding it from Ciara was tough enough. He now had to keep the same secret from one of his biggest influences and heroes. The coach that helped him overcome his social awkwardness, the mentor that pushed him to pursue Ciara.

"If Paul finds out than man is Will, it will ruin everything with Sonny." Theo mumbled to himself.

"Hey Theo!" Paul welcomed him with a warm bro hug.

"Hey Paul! It feels so good to be back home. I think I want to take a year off before playing again!" Theo groaned.

Paul smacked Theo's head. "You're only twenty-three and your arm is still working! Don't you dare give up! Do you know how many aspiring pitchers out would love to be in your shoes right now?"

"Alright, alright Paul, I just wanna take the year off, I didn't say I want to quit." Theo Theo rubbed his head.

"A year goes by and you will be forgotten, everyone will forget about Theo Carver! You're young and you haven't established a huge name for yourself yet! I forbid you to take the year off understood?" Paul gave a death glare to his protégé.

"Alright, alright! I'm just saying!" Theo relented.

"Be careful for what you wish for!" Paul chided. "Anyway, would you like to check the team out? I could use a little help with strategizing."

"Sure." Theo smiled as the two walked to the baseball field.

"I can't tell Paul, he had worked too hard to be with Sonny all these years. I can't ruin his happiness" Theo told himself.

* * *

Sami Brady and Lucas proceeded to Salem Cemetery to see one of the managers.

"Come have a seat!" The manager in charge of maintenance directed them to the office.

"Just so you know, we never receive any calls for Salem Cemetery so this is kind of new for us." Lucas joked.

The manager laughed a little before continuing. "As spoken earlier, I'm Ryan and I'm in charge of maintenance at Salem Cemetery. The reason I have called you here today is regarding your son's grave."

"What's wrong with it?" Sami asked.

"The government has insisted on reclaiming the plot of land from Areas D, E and F. Which means that the graves and tombstone will all be demolished." Ryan explained.

"Does this mean that our son's grave won't be around anymore?" Lucas questioned in shock.

"Unfortunately, yes it will appear so." Ryan nodded his head.

"What?" Sami was about to hit the roof as she stood up. As if Will did go through so much pain and struggle when he was alive, he now had to be disrespected as a dead man.

"Now calm down, Mrs Horton!" Ryan stood up and tried to sit Sami down.

"It's Ms Brady for you! And no, I won't let my son be trampled all over like this!" Sami promised.

"Sami, could you let him finish? He's just the messenger." Lucas persuaded.

"I'm just about to tell you guys not to worry, there is a solution." Ryan quickly explain further.

"What is it?" Lucas asked.

"We will take the body and further cremate it." Ryan noted, "Once cremated, we will place the ashes in an urn. The urn will then be placed in the Salem Columbarium." Ryan then took out a few pieces of paper from a file in the drawer underneath his desk. "Since you were the ones that organised the funeral, we need your approval to cremate the body."

* * *

Liam Robertson dragged his feet back home while pushing the stroller. Spending a whole day with Jackson Kiriakis had been emotionally draining. The fact that he had to do it over and over again everyday made him so tired. The worst part of it all, he was still unable to sleep. Thoughts of Jackson Kiriakis were worse than caffeine. At the very least, could gulp down two cups of coffee and still fall back to sleep.

The blonde carried his son to bed, before walking back to his bedroom, falling back onto his own bed. He looked at his cellphone.

 _ **20 missed calls – Chad DiMera**_

Liam threw the phone to his right corner. "Please God, tell me what to do." He stared at the ceiling, whispering a prayer.

As he turned his body to his left, he saw he iPod on his bedside table.

"I guess some music would help right now." He took the earphones from bedside drawer and plugged it into the iPod. Too tired to choose an artist, he clicked 'shuffle songs'.

 _I know there's a blue horizon_ _  
_ _Somewhere up ahead, just waiting for me_ _  
_ _Getting there means leaving things behind_ _  
_ _Sometimes life's so bitter sweet_

"A Carrie Underwood song?" Liam was surprised, he didn't know that Tameka loved Carrie Underwood. That was when he remembered…

" _As a musician, we must always go out of comfort zone. I can't be listening to urban music twenty-four seven. I need to listen to some white music too!" Tameka stated._

"How could I forget, that what being a musician is." Liam laughed as he began recalling the rough times they been through.

" _Tammy!" Liam rushed into their home in excitement, "Babe, your EP made it on the Billboard 200!"_

" _What?" Tameka raised her eyebrow before letting out a cynical laughter. "That's real cute babe but you ain't messin with my head."_

" _I ain't messing with your head!" Liam pulled his girlfriend out of the couch and they headed for his laptop. "I'm telling you you made it babe!" Liam logged onto Billboard website and began scrolling down. "Look, your EP is number sixty on the Billboard 200!"_

 _Tameka's eyes widened, it was her face no doubt on the EP cover and there was her name 'A Clean Slate – Tameka Barrino' peaking at number sixty on Billboard._

" _AHHHHHHHHHHH! I HAVE MADE IT!" Tameka began exclaiming in joy. She pulled Liam into a hug as they both jumped in the air._

" _Congratulations babe!" Liam pulled away before planting a kiss on her forehead._

" _I mean, I just wanted to share my music, I didn't know it would peak on Billboard!" Tameka laughed._

 _I guess it's gonna have to hurt  
I guess I'm gonna have to cry  
And let go of some things I've loved  
To get to the other side_

 _I guess it's gonna break me down  
Like fallin' when you try to fly  
It's sad but sometimes  
Moving on with the rest of your life  
Starts with goodbye_

That was when it struck him. Jackson Kiriakis may have left him, it felt like he stabbed a dagger into his heart. Ben Weston may have strangled him, but he'd still survive. Not only did he overcome the odds, he became someone he was proud of. All alone in New York, he started a business, found a new love and settled into a family. Jackson Kiriakis may have break him, but Tameka Barrino healed him.

He had indeed lost his way, but by losing his way, he would not have found the true love of his life. What's more amusing? The love of his life turned out to be a woman.

"Indeed, for some things to start, others have to end." Liam nodded his head. If it weren't for Ben Weston, he would not be able to travel to New York. He would not be able to graduate from culinary school. He would not be able to meet Tameka. Most importantly, he would not have Devon.

"If I didn't lose Jackson Kiriakis, Tameka and Devon would have never entered into my life." Liam concluded. "No point crying over spilled milk anymore. As of today, I going to count the blessings that God have given me. No more moping over what I don't have or complaining about what I've lost."

* * *

A/N: So that's it! Tell me what you think! :D

Song is Starts with Goodbye – Carrie Underwood

I actually wanted to write more PaulSon but looking at the spoilers I feel so nauseated that Sonny would move on that quick. Should I write a PaulSon scene in the next chapter? Tell me!

Please REVIEW! :D


	26. Chapter 25: I'll be bulletproof

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

"Liam, what are you preparing for Daddy Sonny and Paul?" Arianna asked as she proceeded to the kitchen.

"I'm preparing rice for their dinner." Liam replied, washing the rice in the pot.

"Oooh… is there anything else you are making?" Arianna asked.

"I will be deep-frying some chicken and pork later." Liam proceeded to place the pot into the rice cooker.

"Deep-fried chicken?" Arianna's eyes suddenly light up. "Can I have some please please?" The little girl jumped in excitement.

"I'm making some dinner for you too! But Arianna promise me that you won't always have fried chicken, it's unhealthy." Liam told her.

"Mom and Daddy Sonny always tell me the same thing." Arianna complained. "Alright, as long as I have fried chicken for dinner!"

Assured that Gabi and Sonny have been raising Arianna to eat healthily, Liam felt more assured.

"Go finish your homework Arianna. If you finish, you and Devon will watch 'Finding Dory' tonight!" Liam enticed.

"Oooooh I LOVE FINDING DORY!" Arianna exclaimed. "Ok, I will finish my homework now."

"If you don't know anything, just ask me!" Liam reminded as Arianna ran off into her room.

Liam's smile quickly faded off as Arianna disappeared from his sight. He turned around and went back to chopping the onions.

"I'm such an idiot." The blonde exhaled through his nose, doing his best to focus on getting dinner ready.

 _Arianna waited for Gabi to go into the bathroom before approaching Liam._

" _Hey Liam!" She dragged the man to sit on the couch before sitting herself down beside him. "I need your help!"_

" _Arianna, what is it?" Liam asked, crinkling his nose. He wondered why Arianna was so excited._

" _Mom is going out with JJ on Tuesday night which means Daddy Sonny is all alone at home with me." Arianna began to explain. "I want Paul to come over for dinner."_

 _Liam's heart sank for a moment. He'd almost forgotten how Arianna wanted Sonny and Paul to be together._

" _Why do you want Paul over for dinner?" Liam asked, trying to hide his discontent._

" _I want them to have a romantic dinner together with no one at home!" Arianna explained._

" _Why don't you just ask them to go out together?" Liam suggested._

" _Daddy Sonny and Paul will always tell me he's busy and that he and Paul aren't free." Arianna rolled her eyes, "I want them to be together and I need them to start dating!"_

" _Ok," Liam nodded his head, "So why do you want my help?"_

" _Could you cook a romantic dinner for them, pretty pleeeease?" Arianna requested before giving her signature persuasive pout._

Liam remembered crying later that night upon Arianna's request. Arianna Grace Horton, his own flesh and blood wished for Sonny and Paul to be together. He'd never thought he saw the day Paul Narita would take his daughter's love from him as well.

Despite the pain and the heartache, he would do anything to make his daughter happy. To get rid of the heavy feeling in his heart, he jogged around the entire park earlier that morning before hitting the gym. He lifted as many dumbbells as possible until the only pain he could feel were the aches on his muscles.

* * *

Paul Narita sat in his office looking at the photos on his iPhone which he took the other day when Liam Robertson took over baseball practice. He could not help himself and took many close ups of the blonde chef laughing away.

There was something enthralling about Liam Robertson yet, Paul Narita could not put his finger to it. Be it the vibe, energy or the charisma, Paul adored every aspect of him. No matter how hard he tried, Liam Robertson never left his mind.

He was glad that after weeks of almost-silent treatment, Paul mustered up his courage to confront Liam a few days ago.

 _Paul was walking through Horton Town Square when he saw a yellow-skinned toddler running towards his direction._

" _Hey Devon! What are you doing here?" Paul bend down and put out his hands, as Devon came running into his arms. He quickly lifted up._

" _What are you doing here today?" Paul asked, sliding a finger across the toddler's nose._

" _Devon where are you?" Paul heard a voice coming in front of him. As he looked in front to see where the voice is coming from, his eyes met with Liam Robertson._

 _The two stared at each other in silence for a few seconds. Paul noticed the blonde frowning, if he was not wrong, he sensed a subtle anger in Liam._

" _Hey Liam!" Paul broke the silence._

" _Get your hands off my son." Liam ordered softly but sternly. He brisk forward to lift his son from Paul's arms._

" _Devon Robertson! How many times have I told you not to run about?" Liam chided before placing the toddler back into the stroller, buckling his seatbelt up before setting off._

" _Liam wait!" Paul called out._

 _The blonde stopped in his pace as Paul came ran in front of the stroller._

" _Let's talk." Paul said. He noticed the blonde shutting his eyes before breathing through his nose._

" _Is there anything for us to talk about?" Liam asked._

" _Come on Liam! Things haven't been right between us and you know it!" Paul pleaded. "Can you give me ten minutes?"_

 _XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX_

 _Liam Robertson and Paul Narita were sitting at the Brady Pub in awkward silence. Knowing that Paul is staring at him, Liam picked up his spoon and began his cup of macchiato._

 _Paul could sense that he was nervous. He noticed the way his hands were shaking when he stirred his coffee. He could tell Liam was more terrified than him._

" _So, what do you want to talk about?" Liam broke the ice._

" _I wanna talk about what happened a few weeks back." Paul decided to get to the point._

 _Liam nodded his head slowly._

" _Look, I wanna say I'm really sorry for…" Paul thought of a better word other than 'kissing', "imposing on you the other day. I should have controlled myself."_

" _Look, Paul…" Liam wanted to say something but got cut off by Paul._

" _Let me finish, I need to get this out of my chest." Paul pleaded._

" _When I first met you, I was shocked. Because you look just like Will Horton. A part of me was so afraid that I will be losing Sonny because of you." Paul confessed, "Yet, the other part of me was thinking, look at you. Your blonde hair, blue eyes, your words of encouragement… They just light up the room."_

 _Paul took a sip of his hot cup of green tea before continuing._

" _And as I got to know you better, I enjoyed your company. Your presence…" Paul's cheeks were getting red. "it lights up the whole room. You are so… filled of energy and your laugh is…" Paul looked away, "adorable."_

 _In an attempt to steal a glance, Paul saw a very anxious Liam Robertson with his eyes widened._

" _I guess what I'm trying to say is that… I have feelings for you. Strong feelings." Paul stated bluntly. "But I know that you don't feel the same way." Paul gave an embarrassed laugh to alleviate the tension. "I know that I'm barking up the wrong tree."_

" _Look Paul, you're an extremely attractive man. I believe you know that about yourself since you're a model." Liam nodded his head slowly. "And you've been nothing but a great friend. But we are entirely from two different worlds. You're into fashion and sports, I'm into cooking and music." Liam began listing out their differences, "I'm just a simple chef from New York trying to make a living for my family. Regardless of orientation, I don't have the time to be in a relationship. I have a son to raise." Liam picked up his cup and took a sip of his coffee before continuing. "You're a good friend, Paul and I don't want to lose that."_

 _The feeling of disappointment crept through Paul. However, he nodded his head and acknowledged._

Paul Narita sighed at the thought of Liam Robertson showing no feelings for him. At the very least, Will Horton was attracted to him. He knew he and Will had a connection beyond lust. His train of thoughts was disrupted by the notification of his cellphone.

Paul took the cellphone and read through Facebook messenger.

 _ **From Arianna:**_

 _ **Help Paul! I need your help right now! Please come over now!**_

"Arianna is in trouble!" Paul panicked as he rushed out of the office.

* * *

Chad DiMera was meeting Kayla Brady and her husband today. He decided to only tell them about Liam's discovery when the latter managed to calm down.

 _Chad knocked on the door of Liam's apartment before he opened the door._

" _Hey!" Chad called out._

 _Realizing who was at the door, the blonde decided to close it._

" _Wait, Will please!" Chad placed a foot forward, grabbing the side of the door._

" _So you're calling me Will when no one's around?" Liam gave a blank stare._

" _Just give me a chance to explain. Just five minutes." Chad begged._

 _XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX_

 _Chad was in Liam's apartment, sitting on the couch. He was waiting for Liam to tuck Devon into bed._

 _Chad saw the blonde close the door before walking out of the room. Liam moved towards the living room to take a seat beside Chad._

 _Liam took out his iPhone to use the timer app._

" _Your five minutes starts now." Liam stated as he pressed the start button._

" _Look Will! I'm sorry that I have did this to you. But I did what I have to do to protect you!" Chad addressed._

 _The brunette noticed Liam rolling his eyes, he realized it was better than flaring up at him._

" _When you were revived, Ben was still on the loose." Chad exhaled. "I couldn't tell anyone that you were revived. After sending you off, I confronted Ben and we got into a huge fight." He began recounting, "I had to rescue Abigail from Ben. Please Will, you gotta believe me!"_

" _You had five years to tell me the truth, why didn't you?" Liam questioned sternly._

" _I had to take care of Abigail. Ben kidnapped Abigail and tried to burn the both of us. She's mentally unstable! Didn't you see her the other night? She's a mess!" Chad explained._

 _Liam closed his eyes slowly and took in a deep breath. Chad noticed that he's trying not to explode._

 _The timer on Liam's cellphone went off._

" _Your five minutes is up." Liam said softly._

" _Will please…" Chad persuaded._

" _I'm not screaming at you right now because my son's sleeping in the other room." Liam narrowed his eyes. "Unless you want me stir some shit, get out of here."_

" _Will come on…" Chad pacified._

" _One…" Liam began counting._

" _Wait Liam!" Chad stopped him. "Please just help me once more."_

" _After all you did, you want me to help you?" Liam let out a sarcastic laugh._

" _Please, I ask that you won't reveal your true identity." Chad requested._

" _Why?" Liam asked, "So you can carry on living a lie? So you can carry on living your fairytale life with your wife and kids? So you can act like nothing has happened? I don't see how is this protecting me."_

" _No. I need you to keep quiet for Abby's sake." Chad grabbed Liam's arms. "I need your help now for Abigail's sake. Even if you don't believe I did this to protect you, you gotta believe I'd do anything and I mean anything to protect Abby." Chad began begging, "That son of a bitch is the reason why Abigail is so mentally unstable today. I need to get him out of Salem and as far away as possible. Please Will, please! After Ben leaves, you can do whatever you want you can even take me to jail for covering this up. You can sue me for everything I have but please just bear with it for now."_

 _As Chad stared into Liam's eyes, he saw his defences tumbling down. Liam looked away before shutting his eyes._

Chad's phone rang, forcing him to come back to reality.

"Hello?" Chad answered.

"Hey Mr DiMera! I know I'm supposed to keep Liam Robertson on the watch but I just received a call from my wife that my daughter is in the hospital…" One of Chad's minions said.

"You aren't going anywhere! Lives are at stake here!" Chad reprimanded.

"Please, Mr DiMera! I'm begging you! You're a father too!" the man on the phone petitioned.

Chad remained silent for a few seconds. Chad placed himself in his minion's shoes. If TJ were the one that was ill, he would have done the same thing.

"Where are you now?" Chad asked.

"I'm at Liam Robertson's place." The minion replied.

"Got it! Don't go anywhere before the next person comes got it?" Chad instructed before hanging up. He quickly dialled a number.

"Hello? I know timing is really bad but I need you to do something for me." Chad said.

* * *

Liam Robertson sat down and began remembering everything that had happened over the past week. He had managed to digest most of the information. Seeing Jackson Kiriakis at work on a daily basis was undoubtedly hard. However, meeting Paul Narita and clearing the air about the kiss weeks back was absolutely difficult.

Despite all of that, that was a part of him that just could not bring himself to hate Paul. After all the time they had spent together planning the carnival and the various heart-to-heart sessions they had together, Liam felt something for Paul. He was not able to describe it, but he saw a kind-hearted man who plays a fatherly figure towards his players, and a man who was good with kids.

The most conflicting part of all was Arianna. Taking Sonny away was expected. However, Paul taking Arianna's love was beyond heart-wrenching. Arianna Grace Horton, his own flesh and blood hoping for Sonny and Paul to be together.

Yet the other half of him was grateful to Paul. From hearing Arianna singing praises of Paul, Liam was thankful that Paul was there throughout Arianna's growing years. Arianna had grown to become such a lovable young lady whom stands up for what she believes in. Paul had played a big role in her life and he had to give him credit.

He looked gazed at Arianna through the open door. She was sitting on the couch laughing away to 'Toy Story 4'.

"What am I doing in Salem?" Liam asked himself, eyes still fixed on Arianna. "Do I even belong here?"

Liam began questioning himself of what would he do with Arianna.

* * *

Paul Narita jogged hastily along the corridors, approaching Sonny and Gabi's apartment.

"Sonny!" Paul called out upon spotting him. "Thank God you're here!"

"Why? What's wrong?" Sonny asked, getting worried.

"Arianna messaged me that something bad really happened!" Paul answered.

"Why do you mean?" Sonny questioned.

"I don't know, she told me I need to come over immediately." Paul took out his cellphone and showed the text Arianna sent.

"Ok, let's see what's that about!" Sonny quickly unlocked the door and entered the apartment, realizing no one was there.

"Arianna?" Sonny hollered.

"Arianna?" Paul echoed, switching on the lights.

When the lights were turned on, they both looked around the house before finding their way to the kitchen.

On the table were two plates of large omelettes with a breaded pork cutlet on each plate. At the centre there was a piece of paper of the size of a postcard. Sonny picked it up.

 _ **Enjoy your dinner!**_

 _ **Don't worry! Arianna is in safe hands! I've got a sitter!**_

 _ **Liam**_

"It seems Liam has set us up." Sonny stated.

Intrigued by the dish, Paul picked up the fork and sliced the omelette into half. Paul realized there was rice filing.

"Liam made omurice." A smile crept through Paul's face.

"I'm sorry what?" Sonny did not understand.

"Liam made my favourite japanese dish, omurice." Paul could not contain his happiness. "I told him…" he stopped and realized whom he was talking to.

"He did what…" Sonny wanted him to go on.

"Nothing" Paul laughed, "I just… missed japanese food so much!"

Sonny saw the light in Paul's eyes. Insecurities started to creep up his spine.

"He made a japanese meal for Paul…" He was bothered that Liam would put in so much effort to please Paul.

* * *

"Liam are you ready?" Claire questioned.

"Did you turn up the AC? It's kinda cold in here." Liam shivered.

"The only person in this club that is shivering is you." Claire slanted her head to one side. "Look you will do great!"

"Thank you." Liam flashed a wistful smile.

"I can tell you're nervous, it's ok! I had my ups and downs when I performed as well." Claire empathised.

Liam nodded, "Go and have fun, it's your night off! You should be out there drinking and meeting new people!" he encouraged her.

As Claire walked to the other tables, Liam exhaled deeply. He did not know why he'd even agreed to perform in the first place. He was already dealing with the fact that he's Will Horton, he did not need another weight on his shoulders.

"Ok, here we go!" He heard Greg's voice, "One Mojito for me and one raspberry cosmopolitan for you."

"Thanks for paying for the drinks." Liam smiled. "And thanks for coming out tonight, even though I'm just singing a few songs."

"Hey, with a powerhouse voice like yours, people will pay to see you perform!" Greg placed his hand above Liam.

"You're a good friend you know that!" Liam complimented. He felt comforted by the warmth of Greg's hand.

"You're a great guy, I don't just wanna be your friend." Greg sincerely confessed.

Liam looked away, he felt intimidated. He did not expect Greg to be so forward.

"Next up we have one of youtube's most popular chefs in the country!" Claire announced on the stage through the microphone.

"Go for it!" Greg winked.

Liam nodded his head once before proceeding to the side of the stage.

"But today he's not going to excite your taste buds. Just last week, I discovered his second talent. I begged him to take part in this open mic night and here he is! Give it up for Liam Robertson!" Claire introduced as the spotlight shined on the blonde, walking up on stage.

The blonde quickly sat down beside the keyboard and adjusted his seat and the microphone stand.

" _When you're on the stage, the audience are your friends. Engage them through your music, tell them your story! Tell them that God is real!" Tameka adjusted Liam's white choir gown. She wanted the church congregation to know that her snowflake husband was competent to belt out gospel tunes. "Hurry, go!" She pushed her husband forward as stood in front on the sanctuary._

"Pour out everything when you perform" He reminded himself.

"Hi, in case you guys don't know me I'm Liam Robertson and I'm a chef!" Liam introduced. "This is my first time performing well... professionally. I've never really perform outside of church."

Greg smiled, he found it adorable that the confident, outspoken chef would be so shy on stage.

"Today, I will be singing my take on a dance number." Liam said, "This song talks about the past relationships that I had." He confessed, "I really resonated with this song because it's talks about how my ex didn't want to listen to me and remained insistent on his ways. And I did everything to salvage it but nothing worked. I slowly resorted to low, underhanded means to keep my ex but… I got dumped." Liam sighed.

The atmosphere among the crowd became slightly more intense as the noise subsided.

"What I also love about this song is that it talks about the mistake which I have made because let's face it, no two parties are perfect in a relationship. This will be more of a ballad version of the song. I hope you like it." Liam ended his banter he began tickling the ivories. He tried to recall all the tips his wife has taught him.

" _Remember that when you start a song, you must start out strong. In the first ten seconds, you either captivate the audience, or lose their attention completely." Tameka reminded._

 _ **Been there, done that, messed around  
I had my fun; don't put me down  
I'll never let you sweep me off my feet**_

While he was trying to recall the great times he and Tameka jammed together making music, they were disrupted by him pleading Sonny never to see Paul again.

 _ **I won't let you in again  
The messages I've tried to send  
My information's just not going in**_

"Damnit Kiriakis, can't you see I'm performing here?" Liam growled inwardly. Memories of Paul slowly came seeping as well.

 _ **Tick, tick, tick, tick on the watch  
And life's too short for me to stop  
Oh, baby, your time is running out**_

"No, the two of you are bad for me." Liam was thankful he knew the song at the back of his hand. If not, he would be fumbling badly.

 _ **I won't let you turn around**_ _ **  
**_ _ **And tell me now I'm much too proud**_ _ **  
**_ _ **All you do is fill me up with doubt**_

"No, you guys played me like a toy and acted like I was crazy when you two meet up secretly." Liam shook his head while singing. "I'm not going back to those days anymore."

 _ **This time, baby, I'll be  
Bulletproof  
This time, baby, I'll be  
Bulletproof**_

The audience were now silent. Greg could feel the heartache with every word that Liam sung.

"Jackson Kiriakis, Paul Narita, this is my goodbye." Liam decided. As he focused on memories of Tameka.

 _ **This time, I'll be**_

 _ **Bulletproof  
**_

Liam was afraid of tackling the high notes. He knew he had to be technically great in order to hit the note.

" _Remember when you are going for the high note, always remember to B-R-E-A-T-H-E, breathe! You always need to have enough air!" Tameka squeezed his tummy, making sure that he was inhaling correctly._

"Here goes nothing." Liam told himself.

 _ **This time… I'll be…**_

 _ **BULLLLEEEEETTTTTPROOOOF!**_

Greg and Claire felt goosebumps all over them while the crowd applauded.

 _ **Say THIS TIME! BABY I'LL BE!**_

 _ **BULLLLEEEEETTTTTPROOOOF!**_

 _ **Say THIS TIME! BABY I'LL BE!**_

 _ **BULLLLEEEEETTTTTPROOOOF!**_

 _ **Say THIS TIME! BABY I'LL BE!**_

 _ **BULLLLEEEEETTTTTPROOOOF!**_

 _ **Say THIS TIME! BABY I'LL BE!**_

 _ **BULLLLEEEEETTTTTPROOOOF!**_

As the song ended, the crowd quickly stood up for a standing ovation. Greg quickly placed his phone on the table and followed suit.

"Thank you." Liam humbly bowed his head.

* * *

"Hello?" JJ Deveraux picked up the phone.

"Hey JJ, it's me." Shawn greeted. "I've got the DNA results."

"Oh. My. god." JJ's heart stopped for a second.

"Where are you now?" JJ asked.

"I'm at the Salem Forsensics beside the police academy." Shawn informed.

"I'll be right there." JJ hung up as he quickly wore his coat and set off.

* * *

Liam Robertson strolled along Salem Park. He declined Greg's offer to take him home.

"Stillness and calmness" Liam smiled, "This was my worst fear, to be completely deserted. I used to be so afraid of such loud silence. But now, I appreciate the peace and tranquillity it brings." As he took another step, he tripped and fell on his face.

"Damnit!" Liam cursed as he rubbed his head, he quickly stood up and notice his shoelaces were untied.

When Liam bended down and began tying his shoelaces, he heard rustling among the bushes.

A chill went down his spine, as if something bad was about to happen.

He quickly stood back and as he began brisk walking.

A few steps later, he heard more rustling.

Liam quickly turn around.

"I live in New York. Punk-ass gangsters in the Bronx are always robbing people. I can sense when someone's following me." Liam quickly took his wallet out of his pocket. "I only have twenty dollars. Other than that, I got nothing. Show yourself."

A shadow was slowly popping up and seconds later, a tall brunette man was standing right in front of the lamppost.

Liam's eyes widened as fear seeped through his chest.

"Hello Will." Ben Weston greeted with a smile.

* * *

A/N: So sorry for not updating soon enough, school just started again. :/

Up next Gabi and Will/Liam will have a BFF moment! :D

Song which Will/Liam sung today was Bulletproof by La Roux (I twisted the lyrics a little to fit the story of course :P). But I suggest that you go listen to Bobby Newberry and Melody Thornton's version. That version is what I believe Will/Liam would have sung! :P

Anyway, thanks for reading! PLEASE REVIEW! :D


	27. Chapter 26: Living like a dead man

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

"What?" Kayla stood up, raising her voice in shock.

"Kayla, there's nothing we can do now." Chad explained despondently. "I managed to buy us some time until we catch Ben. But after that, we need to come clean."

Kayla fell back onto her chair. Joey and Stephanie are all grown up, she need not worry about losing her job. What she's afraid of is affecting her relationship with Marlena, John and Roman. She did not want to lose them.

"Sweetness," Steve place an arm over her shoulder. "I told you, we will tell them together. We will try to make them understand."

* * *

Gabi Hernandez strolled towards the front door of her apartment. She and JJ were on a date when Shawn called and informed him about the DNA results.

"If Devon is really Arianna's brother…" A chill went down her spine while unlocking the door.

"Hey Gabi!" She heard Sonny's voice, causing her to jump.

"Qué chingados!" Gabi swore in spanish before turning around. "Sonny, you scared the shit out of me! What are you two doing here?"

"Just having dinner." Paul answered.

"Where did Ari go? Wasn't Liam babysitting her?" Gabi looked around.

"Liam took Arianna to his place." Sonny answered.

"And why are you here again?" Gabi looked at Paul.

"You won't believe what Liam and Arianna did." Paul laughed gently. "Liam and Arianna had set us up on a date. Aren't they cunning?" Paul felt more relaxed throughout the course of dinner as the tension between him and Sonny dissipated.

Both Sonny and Paul decided not to think about Liam throughout dinner. It was clear they were being ambushed. Sonny and Paul decided to just go with the flow and enjoyed the rest of the night.

Upon hearing what both Sonny and Paul said, an uneasy feeling lingered around her.

"Liam couldn't be Will. I mean setting up a date for Sonny and Paul?" Gabi thought to herself. "That's impossible."

* * *

JJ Deveraux trotted through the park, taking a shortcut to Salem Forensic Centre.

"What would we do if Liam is really Will?" JJ thought to himself. As he looked forward he saw a two men standing beside a lamppost.

"Who could be in the park at this time of the night?" JJ wondered.

As he walked closer. He saw the two men.

"Oh shit!" JJ quickly hid himself behind the bushes.

"What the hell is Ben doing with Liam?" JJ worried.

* * *

Liam Robertson's eyes widened. A gush of wind swept pass him as he stood there dumbfounded for a few seconds.

"It has been a while!" Ben Weston noted.

"No, it can't be. I mean he's crazy right?" Liam thought to himself.

"I'm sorry," Liam shook his head and squinted his eyes. "Do I know you?"

"Still playing dumb after all these years? I should have known." Ben laughed. "For the past five years, I wondered to myself, how on earth did Chad DiMera find out I was the one who killed you." He took a few steps forward as Liam took a few steps backwards. "I thought through the entire process and I could never come to a conclusion." He took a few more steps forward. "Until my father returned to Salem. He told me about this blonde chef who happened to work at Hotel Titan. Apparently, he shocked the entire town with his appearance."

Liam held his breath, trying his best not to panic.

"He then heard rumours among investors at DiMera Enterprises that this chef is in talks to become the next spokesperson for DiCera Stone. The upcoming cookware of DiMera Enterprises" Ben explained, "There are thousands of celebrity chefs from Jamie Oliver to Rachael Ray. I wonder, why would Chad DiMera want to hire you, of all people to endorse their product? The answer was clear and simple." Ben's smile slowly faded away. "You, you were the one that took my happiness away. You took Abigail away from me. You took Colin away from me!" Ben shouted. "You were the one that told Chad everything! You ruined my life!"

Liam's hands were now trembling away.

"Because you took everything away from me, you now have to pay." The brunette took the gun out from his coat and pointed it at Liam.

Liam's heart was beating rapidly. His life was going to be taken away once again by the same man.

"This is the end of my life." Liam resigned to fate at what he believes to be the last few minutes of his life. "I need to face this bravely this time."

* * *

"He's absolutely crazy!" JJ Deveraux was about to rush out when he heard the words coming out of Liam Robertson's mouth.

"You're right, I am Will Horton." Liam Robertson confessed.

JJ stopped in his footsteps.

"What did he just say?" JJ questioned.

"And you're right about everything else too." Liam paced forward. "Chad found my body and revived me. Chad was the one who wiped out my memory, sent me to New York, gave me a new identity, gave me a complete brand new life."

JJ took a step back, completely astonished.

"When all my memories came back, I realized that not only have I lost my husband. I also lost my daughter, my family to Paul Narita. I am already living like a dead man." The tip of the gun was now touching his forehead. "If you want to take my life, go ahead. I have nothing to fear already."

Surprised by Liam's despondence, Ben's hands shivered.

"Come on Ben." Liam taunted in a sing-song voice. "Just one pull of the trigger and fire." He shut his eyes.

As Liam narrowed his eyes, Ben's eyes widened. It was his turn to be afraid.

Suddenly, Ben felt a sudden push to the ground. Liam felt the gun being pushed away from his forehead.

"That's my cousin you asshole!" Liam heard the voice yelling.

Liam opened his eyes. He saw JJ and Ben both on the ground. JJ was on top of Ben, throwing a punch across his face.

"JJ?" Liam called out.

"Will, run!" JJ yelled.

In a moment of weakness, Ben flipped JJ over and pinned him down before throwing a few punches himself. Noticing the gun a few inches away from them, Ben tried to reach out for the gun. JJ look towards where Ben was looking at and turned him right around. JJ tried to reach for the gun himself to prevent Ben from taking it.

Noticing the item both men were trying to grab, Liam quickly ran towards the gun and kicked it aside.

In a fit of anger, Ben took the dagger hanging from his belt out from the dagger pocket and thrusted it into JJ's tummy.

"OW!" JJ groaned in pain, collapsing onto Ben. "AHHH!"

Ben quickly pushed JJ off him, before turning his head towards Liam.

"Who's causing all that ruckus?" They heard a voice coming from behind them.

Ben panicked as he stood up and scattered off.

"JJ!" Liam rushed to his cousin's aid and gently slapped his face. "Come on JJ! Talk to me!"

A subconscious JJ barely opened his eyes and smiled.

"Will…" JJ smiled. "It really is you Will…"

"Come on JJ… stay with me ok?" Liam grabbed him by his arms and shook him.

"What's going on here?" He heard a voice from behind.

Liam turned around to see a security guard.

"Someone has been stabbed! Call the ambulance!" Liam shouted.

* * *

"So today was fun!" Paul noted intertwining his hand with Sonny's.

"Yeah, it was." Sonny smiled looking back at Paul. It had been a while he and Paul had a nice quiet dinner at home. He truly enjoyed this dinner date they had.

Paul leaned in as his right hand cupped Sonny's cheeks. Sonny did likewise. As the two were about to press their lips together, the phone rang.

"I'm sorry," Sonny pulled away. He quickly took the cordless phone.

"Hello?" Sonny answered. "Yes, this is her housemate speaking."

Paul looked at Sonny's expression. It turned from a smile into a worried frown.

"Excuse me?" Sonny asked. "Ok, I will inform her." Sonny quickly put down the phone.

"Why? What's wrong?" Paul moved closer to Sonny.

"I need to tell Gabi!" Sonny quickly stood up. "Gabi!"

"Yeah?" Gabi opened her bedroom.

"We need to go to the hospital now!" Sonny urged, grabbing their coats.

"Why, what happened?" Gabi walked out of her room.

"Something bad happened to JJ!" Sonny informed.

Gabi's heart skipped a beat. She did not expect that her boyfriend would meet into an accident trying to find out Liam's true identity.

* * *

Liam Robertson and Jennifer Horton were sitting outside the operating theatre. Jennifer was weeping badly.

"Please God, please keep JJ safe. I cannot afford to lose JJ too!" Jennifer croaked.

Liam stared at the blonde woman next to her. He was drowned in guilt. Jennifer already had Abigail to worry about. She did not need her other child's life to be in danger as well.

"I'm sorry Aunt Jennifer. It's my fault." Liam said in his head.

"JJ? JJ?" Liam heard Gabi's voice.

"Gabi, you're here!" Jennifer stood up and walked towards Gabi.

"How's JJ? Please tell me he will be alright!" Tears flowed down Gabi's cheeks.

"What did the doctor say?" Sonny asked.

"The doctor hasn't said anything yet." Jennifer said. "We are all waiting here until he comes out."

"Liam, what are you doing here?" Paul noticed him standing beside Jennifer.

"There was this…" Liam thought about what to say in order not to blow his cover. "This guy, he kept on telling me that I was Will Horton saying I'm the reason why Chad DiMera took everything away from him. I told him that you got the wrong guy."

"That must be Ben!" Sonny curled his hand into a fist.

"Then what happened?" Gabi asked frantically.

"He pointed a gun at me and out of nowhere, JJ appeared and wrestled him to the ground." Liam continued, "He dropped the gun on the floor and they were both fighting to grab it. I quickly kick the gun to one corner. Ben took a dagger out of nowhere and stabbed JJ."

Gabi and Jennifer bawled away.

* * *

Kayla Brady was pacing back and forth in her office.

"I can't believe this has happened!" Kayla's was getting more jittery by the second. "This is all my fault. If I actually paid more attention to this back then…"

"Sweetness, we couldn't possibly have taken of this then." Steve rebutted gently. "Over the past five years, we had Joey and Ava to take care of. We couldn't handle this mess."

"And now look at JJ!" Kayla turned around, raising her voice. "JJ is in the hospital all because of Ben!" Kayla tried to take a few deep breaths to compose herself. "I think it's time we tell Marlena and John."

"No sweetness!" Steve grabbed Kayla wrist to stop her. "Ben is still on the loose, we can't tell anyone yet. Not until he gets caught!"

Kayla groaned in frustration, ruffling her hair all over.

* * *

"What kind of idiots are you?" Chad DiMera smacked his minions' heads one after the other. "I told you to protect Liam Robertson, what the hell were you doing?" Chad reprimanded. "You two went to The Edge to have a good time didn't you?"

"We swear we didn't, my son's really sick!" One of the minions said.

"Then what about you?" Chad turned his head to face the other guy.

"He was on stage so I went to the bathroom to take a piss." The man said, "I didn't know he would be gone in a flash."

"Bunch of useless wimps! Your salaries are docked!" Chad punished.

* * *

Gabi was sitting all alone beside JJ in a comatose state. The doctor told them that JJ's condition has stabilised. However, the wound has hit a raw nerve in his tummy. The doctor told them he was afraid that JJ may be in a permanent coma.

"This is all my fault." Liam kept telling himself. "I'm the reason why JJ is in this state." A tear flowed down his cheek.

"JJ, you gotta hang in there!" Gabi pleaded. "Arianna needs you, I need you! You can't just go like this!"

Gabi was sitting outside JJ's ward. Liam offered her some coffee from the vending machine.

"Thanks." Gabi gave a resigned smile.

"No problem." Liam replied before taking a seat beside her. "Don't worry, I'm sure JJ will wake up soon." He comforted.

"What would I do without JJ?" Gabi sniffled. "I mean, Ari and I are so used to him around. He treats Arianna like his own daughter. I don't know what I will do without him."

In an attempt to ease his guilt. Liam turned Gabi's shoulders in his direction.

"Look Gabi." Liam said, "You are such a strong woman and look at JJ. Who would have thought he'd become a cop today?"

Gabi slowly looked up to face JJ.

"JJ had suffered so much, from the rebel he was when he was a teenager, drugs, to the death of his girlfriend. He went through police academy and look at him today. He's now an inspector." Liam began stating the obvious, "And what about you, you got a beautiful daughter, you survived that terrible relationship with Nick. Hell, you been through prison!"

Gabi's jaw dropped from the words that just came out of Liam's mouth.

As Gabi staring blankly into space, Liam tapped her shoulder repeatedly.

"What are you staring at?" Liam waved his hand frantically at Gabi.

"How did you know about my history with Nick and in prison?" Gabi asked in astonishment.

Liam went completely stunned, he realized he gave too much of himself away.

"And JJ? How did you know about his rebellious teenage years?" Gabi probed.

The blonde's jaw dropped for a second in hesitation. Drops of perspiration started forming on his forehead.

"Um…" Liam stammered. "Kiriakis told me about the trials and tribulations he and his husband went through when we first met, thinking that I was actually him." He laughed before looking at his watch. "Oh, look at the time. I completely forgotten about Arianna and Devon. Don't worry, I will take care of Arianna for the night. I gotta go." The blonde stood up and rushed off.

Gabi Hernandez stared at Liam Robertson has he slowly disappeared from her sight.

"Sonny couldn't have told him everything. He doesn't panic or get nervous that easily. How does he know about JJ? How does he know about my history with Nick? How does he know I went to prison?" Questions start forming in Gabi's head.

"If Sonny didn't tell him, that means…" Gabi began hyperventilating a little.

Gabi dropped her cup of coffee on floor, forming a brown puddle. She stood up and quickly rush off.

* * *

Shawn Douglas Brady was cleaning up his desk when he saw the DNA report. He picked the brown envelope up nervously.

"Should I look at this?" He questioned himself before pulling out his drawer.

"Shawn!" He heard loud clunky steps of heels from his direction before looking up.

"Gabi, what are you doing here?" Shawn asked.

Gabi's eyes scrolled downwards. She spotted Shawn holding a brown envelope in his hands.

"Come with me!" Gabi pulled Shawn's wrist as they proceed to the meeting room.

* * *

"Gabi, are you sure you wanna do this?" Shawn asked.

"The man knows about my history, JJ's history and is able to speak german." Gabi pointed out frantically. "Come on, JJ is in the hospital because he way on his way to see you for this. Both of Jennifer's children are now bed-ridden."

Shawn inhaled deeply, "You do know that if Devon and Ari are siblings, this changes everything right?"

The latina shut her eyes for a few seconds, contemplating for a few seconds before opening her eyes.

"Yes, I know." Gabi answered as confidently as she could.

"Ok, here it goes." Shawn lifted the flap of the envelop and slowly read through the paper.

Shawn's eyes widened.

"What does it say?" Gabi asked upon looking at Shawn's reaction.

"It says that the Y chromosomes between Arianna and Devon are exactly the same." Shawn replied.

Not understanding the scientific details, Gabi got frustrated.

"Give me that!" She snatched the paper from Shawn and began skimming through the details.

 _ **There is a 30% DNA match between Arianna Horton and Devon Robertson.**_

 _ **Both of them share the same Y chromosomes.**_

 _ **We conclude that Arianna Horton and Devon Robertson share the same father.**_

Upon reading the last line on the paper, Gabi dropped the paper and the envelope on the ground. There was a part of her that believed that this was just too much of a coincidence.

"Arianna and Devon share the same father…." Gabi stated in shock. "That means…"

"Liam Robertson is Will Horton." Shawn completed her sentence.

* * *

A/N: Ok, that's all for now! Tell me what you think?

Up next we have Stayla arguing, Lumi and Sonny doing Will's cremation stuff!

What do you guys think? Please review. I hope my story will tie you over throughout the PaulSon nonsense lol! :P


	28. Chapter 27: I deserve to be Beyonce

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

Liam Robertson knelt down beside the couch. He stared at the blonde girl sleeping soundly.

"My Arianna, my sweet baby girl." He thought to himself, "Look how much you have grown. The last time I saw you, you were still sitting on my lap." Liam gently grazed her cheeks with his knuckles.

"What am I going to do about you?" He wondered to himself.

* * *

-One week later-

Sami Brady, Lucas Horton and Sonny Kiriakis were taking a tour around the Salem Columbarium. They were trying to find a good location to place their late son's urn.

"I kinda like this one best." Sami remarked as she spotted an idea cremation niche. "Just within my view, I need stretch my head all the way up or bend all the way down to look at our boy."

"Yeah, I agree too." Sonny added, "Plus, it's facing the garden, I'm sure Will would love that."

"Ok if there's anything else, I think we can sign the agreement" The manager of the columbarium said.

"I would love to stay for a little longer but I need to go back to work." Sonny said.

"Don't worry, we will take care of everything!" Lucas assured.

* * *

Liam Robertson entered JJ Deveraux's ward. Hesitantly, he took a seat beside the unconscious patient.

"Hey JJ! How've you been?" Liam asked as he looked at his comatose cousin. "Seeing Gabi the past week, she has not been looking great."

Liam pulled the chair he's sitting on closer to the bed before continuing. "JJ, this is my fault. This is all my fault. If I managed to break the fight between you and Ben, you wouldn't be in this position right now." Tears started flowing down his cheeks, "Gabi needs you. Arianna needs you. I need you." Liam pleaded. "I need you to be there for Arianna, to be the father she needs. To be everything that I can't be. Please JJ, I need you to wake up."

What Liam Robertson did not know was that Gabi Hernandez was standing at the doorway, eavesdropping on the entire conversation.

* * *

Kayla Brady paced back and forth in her office. She was in a huge dilemma over the past week. Every time she looked at Jennifer, she couldn't help herself but to feel that she was responsible for JJ getting shot. She avoided Jennifer every opportunity she got by burying herself in the office.

" _Look at Jennifer! She's a mess right now!" Kayla raised her voice._

" _Sweetness, we need to do what we have to do to protect Abigail and Will! This is for the greater good of everyone!" Steve argued._

" _I have to tell everyone about this!" Kayla headed towards the door as Steve grabbed her arm._

" _No, you can't! Ben is still missing!" Steve objected._

" _I can't sleep at night." Kayla confessed._

" _Just bear with it for a little longer. We need to track Ben down!" Steve pleaded._

Kayla took out her cellphone as began texting away.

 _ **To: Marlena, Sami, Lucas, Jennifer**_

 _ **I need to speak to you urgently, come by the Brady Pub tonight.**_

* * *

Gabi Hernandez had been quietly observing Liam Robertson over the past week. She wasn't sure what to make up of the situation. She could not understand the reason Liam would set Sonny and Paul up on a date. The Will she knew would return to Arianna in an instant and longed for her to call him 'Dad'.

"What isn't he telling us?" Gabi wondered, "Why doesn't he want to tell us his true identity?"

Ever since their conversation at the hospital, Liam kept contact to the very bare minimum. Whenever Liam dropped Devon off, he smiled and greeted before dashing off.

"Why is he hiding?" Gabi questioned.

Gabi Hernandez decided to buy some coffee from the vending machine.

"If only Shawn let me have the DNA results…" She complained as she took the cup of coffee before proceeding back to JJ's ward. She saw Liam leaving the ward.

"Liam!" she quickly paced forward towards him.

"Gabi, it's good to see you." Liam greeted.

"Gosh, Liam you look so tired." Gabi noticed the dark circles around Liam's eyes. "Coffee?" She offered.

"Sure, thanks!" Liam took the cup from Gabi and sipped the hot coffee.

* * *

Sonny Kiriakis has been busy over the past week. Apart from work and family, he had been helping Sami and Lucas deal with Will's cremation proceedings. He visited Liam Robertson at his place almost every single day to see how he was doing.

"He's still so moody even after a week. Ben must have really been terrifying." Sonny muttered. Just he looked forward he spotted Liam walking in the opposite direction.

"Liam! What are you doing here?" Sonny rushed towards the blonde to hold his arm with hand while placing the other over his shoulder.

"Relax," The blonde gently pulled away from him. "I need some fresh air, that's all."

Liam Robertson had not been acting like himself as of late. He did not shove him away or yell at him, neither had he make any sarcastic remarks. The sudden change had worried Sonny, he could sense something was wrong.

"You shouldn't be out here! You should be at home resting." Sonny gently chided.

"My feet have been itching to take a stroll." Liam replied with a wistful smile.

"And Ben Weston is still on the loose, you should be at home!" Sonny continue chiding.

As hard as he tried, Liam Robertson could not help but be touched by Jackson Kiriakis' concern. He wanted to be annoyed and just yell at him but he just couldn't.

"Snap out of it, you're no longer Will Horton! Remember that!" He kept reminding himself.

"I was planning to tell you this when I go back to work tomorrow but since you're here I thought I will give you a heads up." Liam informed.

"What is it?" Sonny asked.

"I'm quitting." Liam said.

Sonny's heart sank as waves of disappointment flooded him.

"I'm sorry," Sonny let out an embarrassed giggle. "I don't think I heard you right. Did you say you want to quit?" He needed to make sure he didn't hear wrongly.

"I'm quitting by the end of the month." Liam repeated. He noticed Sonny's expression turning from worried to disappointed.

"Really?" That was all Sonny could reply. A part of him wanted to pull his wrist and screamed 'No! Stay with me!' but he knew better. After everything that happened with Ben Weston, there's absolutely no reason for Liam Robertson to remain in Salem.

* * *

Lucas Horton received a call from the manager of Salem Cemetery.

"Hello?" Lucas answered.

"Hey Mr Horton! It's Ryan, are you free at the moment?" The manager asked.

"We're at Salem Columbarium." Lucas said.

"You need to come to the cemetery. Something bad has really happened." Ryan urged.

* * *

Kayla Brady decided to take a visit to Jennifer Horton's place. In the past week, Jennifer never left the hospital. Whenever she was not in Abigail's ward, she would be in the ICU right beside JJ. It took plenty of convincing from both Steve and Kayla to go home and take a nap.

Kayla entered Jennifer's home before proceeding to the living room.

"Hey Jen! I'm here to tell you that JJ has been transferred to the ward…" Kayla cut herself off when she saw Jennifer completely passed out on the couch with an empty wine bottle on the ground.

"Oh my goodness!" Kayla exclaimed in worry, "I can't believe this is happening again!" She quickly squatted by Jennifer and tried to sit her up on the couch before taking a seat beside her.

"Jen? Jennifer?" Kayla gently slap her cheek a few times in the hopes of waking her up.

"I can't believe this!" Kayla sighed as guilt crept through her veins once more. "I have to tell Sami & Lucas the truth."

* * *

Chad DiMera took out a check book from drawer. He took his ballpoint pen up and began writing a check of fifty thousand dollars.

" _I want to say I'm sorry for the way I have been behaving." Liam apologizing, "I was way out of line for going crazy on you."_

" _Don't be!" Chad was surprised upon hearing Liam's apology and resigned tone. "Why are you apologizing? I was the one who had been lying to you this entire time! You have every right to be mad at me."_

" _No," Liam insisted, "In order to protect me, in order to protect Abigail, you sent me away." The blonde exhaled through his nose. "If anything, I was the one that was useless. If I didn't lose my memory, I would have been able to clear your name, prove your innocence."_

" _What are you saying?" Chad began rebutting. "You don't have to feel useless. None of this was your fault! You didn't want to lose your memory; we all didn't see that coming!"_

" _Let me finish," Liam pleaded. "Instead of blaming you and getting angry at you this entire time, I should have been grateful to you this entire time." He began thanking, "You were the one whom gave me a new life. You gave me a new life, a brand new beginning in a brand new city. You put me through culinary school and turned me from the boy who can only flip pancakes to a skilled chef. You gave me a second chance at love, a second chance to start over. And now, I'm at a better place than I was five years ago."_

" _What are you trying to say?" Chad asked, feeling confused._

" _I'm trying to say is I'm done wallowing in self-pity and rejection. I'm done thinking of only myself by you remain worrying about Abby and I." He began stating._

" _What do you mean by all this?" Chad enquired._

" _It means," Liam took a deep breath through his nose before continuing, "I'm leaving Salem"_

 _Chad's eyes widened._

" _No, you can't leave Salem!" Chad objected, "You don't need to leave Salem for Abigail's sake. This is a stretch!"_

" _It may seem like I'm helping you and Abigail, but to be honest with you, I'm doing this for myself." Liam confessed. "Looking at Arianna, she was so happy the other day when Kiriakis and Paul had a dinner date. And looking at how happy she was, I can't destroy that."_

 _Chad's heart sank, he empathised with how heartbroken Liam was._

" _And seeing Kiriakis and Paul together," The blonde shut his eyes tightly so his tears would not flow down, "I don't know how much more my heart can take." He took in another deep breath, telling himself to stay strong before continuing. "I'm going back to New York."_

" _Will, you're sure you want to do this?" Chad asked once more._

" _If I leave, everyone wins. Arianna and Kiriakis won't have to feel the need to put me first out of guilt and obligation when deep down, they are madly in love with Paul. To them, I will always be Kelly Rowland and Paul will always be Beyonce. I want to be Beyonce, I deserve to be someone's Beyonce. If I can't be Jackson Kiriakis' Beyonce, I will be someone else's Beyonce." Liam firmly stood his ground._

" _What does that mean?" Chad wondered._

" _It means I'm done playing second fiddle to Paul Narita." Liam clarified, "Furthermore, I now have a son to think about. I don't want him to grow up in such a sticky situation. I want him to have a stable childhood."_

 _Chad nodded his head, understanding his drift. "You still have a contract with Hotel Titan. Let me help buy you out of that contract."_

" _You don't have to, I can settle that…" Liam gently shook his head._

" _Let me do this, to ease my guilt. To make up for deceiving you all these years." Chad pleaded._

* * *

"What do you mean by you weren't able to cremate anything?" Sami Brady yelled at the manager of Salem Cemetery.

"Well… when we opened the coffin, something terrible happened." Ryan trembled at the sight of her death stare.

"Which is?" Lucas asked, getting more agitated by the second.

"There was no body in the coffin." Ryan informed.

* * *

"Not to worry, I will not leave you guys hanging unattended." Liam assured, "I'm telling you in advance so that you will be able to find someone new before I leave."

Sonny nodded his head slowly in acknowledgement. Then the lightbulb on his head turned on.

"That's it! I know how to make him stay!" Sonny thought devilishly.

"You do know you need to pay fifty thousand dollars to terminate the contract right?" Sonny reminded. "If this is about what happened with Ben I can protect you. I can get a safe house for you to stay in until Ben Weston is arrested. You don't need to leave Salem."

"This isn't just about Ben Weston." Liam replied, "I'm a single father. I have no family in Salem. I'm out here all on my own. I miss home, I miss New York. I miss my family."

"You seem so sure about this." Sonny conceded.

Looking at Sonny's reluctant expression, Liam reminded himself to stay strong.

"Yes, I'm sure. If it is worth fifty grand for me to go home, I'm doing it." Liam nodded.

* * *

"How is this possible?" Sami questioned in shock.

"I don't understand either." Lucas agreed.

"It seems that someone has stolen the body." The manager answered, hands trembling upon getting an earful from the blonde lady.

"Yeah, WHY THE HELL WOULD IT BE STOLEN?" Sami yelled. "is the Salem Cemetery that incompetent that they can't even protect corpses from getting stolen? What kind of cemetery do you run exactly! I am going to sue the cemetery for every dime it has!"

Before Lucas could stop Sami from exploding any further, he received a call from Kayla.

"Hey Kayla, what's up?" Lucas answered.

"I'm at Jennifer's place, she passed out after drinking a whole bottle of wine." Kayla panicked.

"Oh crap! I will be there asap!" Lucas informed.

* * *

Gabi Hernandez sat by JJ the entire afternoon. She had to go through the proceedings of transferring JJ from the ICU to the ward.

"Why is he still hiding?" That question had been inside her head the entire day. "No, I need to confront him about it." Gabi decided as she stood up and walked out of JJ's ward.

John Black and Steve Johnson were working back in the Black Patch office.

"I have to go soon." John informed. "Marlena told me it's urgent."

"What's so urgent?" Steve asked.

"Apparently, Kayla said she needed to tell her something really important." John replied.

Steve's dropped his pen.

"Oh no! She's gonna tell them everything!" Steve panicked.

"Aunt Kayla, we got here as soon as we can." Sami walked energetically with a bounce into Jennifer's place.

"Where's Jen?" Lucas asked.

"She's upstairs. I managed to wake her up a little so she could go back to her room to take a nap." Kayla answered.

"I can't believe she's back to alcohol again." Lucas sighed.

"Both of her children are in the hospital, it is a big blow to her." Kayla empathized.

"Hey Kayla, we're here!" Kayla heard Marlena's voice. She turned around only to see her husband standing behind Marlena and John.

"Steve what are you doing here?" Kayla questioned in shock.

"To stop you from making a big mistake." Steve answered plainly.

"Kayla, you have gathered all of us here to tell us something. What is it?" Marlena questioned.

"Apparently, you called us because Jennifer is back to drinking?" Lucas suggested.

"Yes, that's exactly what this is about." Steve answered. "I was hoping we could find a way to cheer Jennifer up. From the looks of it, she a wreck!"

"No, that's not the reason why I have brought you all here. I'm here to tell you something much more serious than this." Kayla informed.

"No sweetness, we can't." Steve objected gently.

"We have to tell them. They have the right to know." Kayla barked.

"But now isn't the right time!" Steve argued.

"Then when?" Kayla raised her voice even louder, "If we let them know from the start, JJ wouldn't be in the hospital and Jennifer would go back to being an alcoholic mess!"

Steve saw the sadness in his wife's eyes, concealing the truth was killing her, she could not do it any longer.

"Will is still alive." Kayla confessed.

* * *

Liam Robertson stared at his son sleeping soundly.

"When Devon goes back to New York, I think it's time to buy him a bed." Liam decided. His train of thought was disrupted by the ringing of the doorbell.

Liam proceeded to the entrance to open the door.

"Gabi!" Liam greeted, "What are you doing here?"

"I need to speak to you, NOW!" Gabi gave a death stare as she proceeded inside.

"What seems to be to the matter?" He asked while closing the door.

"I want to know where did you first learn German." Gabi interrogated.

Liam's eyes widened but he did everything he could to keep a strong front.

"What do you mean? Why are you asking this all of the sudden?" The blonde giggled.

"Still acting dumb? Fine." Gabi nodded her head slightly in anger, "Ok let's go on to the next question. How do you know so much about literature? You can name quotes from EM Forster?"

"What are you talking about Gabi?" Liam shrugged his shoulders, putting up a strong front.

"Tell me why do you know anything about EM Forster?" Gabi raised her voice.

"I saw a few quotes online?" Liam shrugged his shoulders innocently.

"What about my history in prison? How did you know about my relationship with Nick? How do you know about Paige's death?" Gabi fired away more questions.

"Whoa whoa whoa…" Liam tried to calm her down. "It's a small town, people talk. And didn't I tell you Kiriakis told me about it before?"

"Ok, very well then, since you told me Sonny said all these things," Gabi took out her phone and began dialling Sonny's number. "Why don't I call Sonny now and clarify this entire situation?"

In the heat of the moment, Liam snatched the Samsung away from Gabi.

"No you can't!" Liam hesitated.

"Why do you know all these things?" Gabi questioned. "Tell me, why do you know all these things."

Liam remained silent, unable to answer anything.

"Are you going to tell me or do you want me to spell it out for you?" Gabi barked.

Chills came running down the blonde's spine as his fears elevated.

"No, it can't be." Liam told himself.

"Yes, it is!" Gabi snorted. "Remember this morning when I offered you a cup of coffee? I took that paper cup and Arianna's toothbrush for a paternity test. And guess what, it was a 99.99 per cent match."

The blonde's face turned completely pale.

"You are," Gabi revealed, "without a doubt, Will Horton."

* * *

A/N: Hey! Sorry for the 1.5-month hiatus. I'm back after a crazy period of school and projects.

I have been watching a lot of Destiny's Child (You know… the group Beyonce was in) performances lately and I thought of this great reference. I think I'm gonna make this the memorable quote of the series or this fanfiction.

Anyway, 2-3 more chapters to THE MOMENT WE'VE BEEN ALL WAITING FOR! Stay tuned! :D

Please Read & REVIEW! :D


	29. Chapter 28: I can't go back

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

Shawn Douglas Brady sat by his bed. He quickly placed the brown envelope inside the drawer of his bedside table.

" _I must go find him now!" Gabi grabbed her handbag, picking up the envelope and the DNA results, preparing to take off._

" _Gabi, NO!" Shawn grabbed her wrist, stopping her._

" _Are you kidding me?" Gabi pulled her wrist away. "He has been lying to us the entire time!" The latina raised her voice._

" _How sure are you about that?" Shawn questioned, "Maybe he has his reasons for not telling us."_

" _And why would he be hiding?" Gabi argued. "The Will I know will never do that to Arianna. The Will I know will never do that to Sonny! The Will I know would have come back to us!"_

" _All the more you can't just confront him like this!" Shawn dissuaded. "If you just confront him like this, he will be taking the first flight out of Salem, never to return! Plus, Ben Weston is still on the loose! If everyone knows about this, Will will be in trouble again!" he reminded._

" _Then what are we supposed to do?" Gabi retorted, "Let him deceive the entire town?"_

" _Maybe he doesn't know who he truly is." Shawn suggested. "If he himself doesn't know who he is, how can he tell you who he really is?"_

" _He knows about my past! He knows about JJ's past!" Gabi pointed out bluntly_

 _Shawn quickly snatched the DNA results from Gabi._

" _Hey! Give it back!" Gabi jumped on her heels as Shawn raised his hands up high, preventing Gabi from taking it._

" _We can't let anyone know about this yet! Until Ben laves Salem, no one is to know about this!" Shawn pushed Gabi aside._

"Shawn," Belle sat on the bed beside him. "You look very off lately!" she offered a cup of tea. "This is camomile, it will help you sleep better."

"Oh sure, thanks!" Shawn took the cup from his wife before taking a sip.

"I heard from Roman that you skipped lunch." Belle informed.

"Oh there goes Uncle Roman…" Shawn rolled his eyes.

"You've barely eaten these few days." Belle worried, placing a hand on Shawn's forehead. "You don't seem to be sick, so I don't know what's the problem. Has something been bothering you lately?"

"Just feeling a little stressed out from work." Shawn replied.

"You sure about that?" Belle asked.

"Yeah, I'm sure" Shawn hesitantly answered.

Belle worked as the district attorney in Salem PD for a year when Aiden Jennings left. She often saw her husband feeling distressed by the amount of paperwork he had. Believing it was the pressure getting to him, Belle decided to let the matter slide.

* * *

Sami Brady and Lucas Horton froze in shock, not knowing how to react to what they just heard.

"What are you talking about?" Marlena questioned. "What do you mean by Will is alive?"

"She's… been feeling overly stressed about everything that has been going on lately…" Steve proceeded to place his hands on Kayla's shoulders.

"How long more are we going to deceive them?" Kayla pulled away. "Ben is on the loose, we need all the help we can get to protect Will!"

"What are you two talking about? Will has been gone for five years! Can one of you please explain?" John raised his voice, getting frustrating by their quibbling.

"That's what I'm trying to say, Will is not dead! He's still alive!" Kayla clarified the matter.

"Kayla no!" they heard a voice from behind them. They turned around, realizing it was Chad DiMera.

"Why didn't you stop her?" Chad came rushing forward, yelling at Steve.

"You think I didn't try to? You could have help me stop her if you were here 5 minutes ago!" Steve rebutted.

"QUIET!" Sami let out a prolonged scream, shutting everyone up. She paced forward until she was right in front of Kayla. "What do you mean by Will is alive?" She asked softly yet sternly.

Kayla stared at Sami in silence.

"Answer me." Sami ordered.

"Sami, I need you to…" Chad tried to intervene.

"I want to hear it from her!" Sami cut him off. "I want to know what does she means when she says Will is alive. Is Will really still alive?"

"Don't take it out on her." Chad stepped forward in front of Kayla. "If you want to blame someone, blame me." Chad defended. "I was the one who took Will's body out of the morgue."

That was when all the missing pieces fell into place. Sami Brady understood the reason Will's body was missing from his coffin. Will's body was stolen but not during the course of the past five years. Will's body was stolen after she and Lucas left the morgue.

* * *

Liam Robertson's eyes widened, he wanted to leave Salem as swiftly as possible. The last thing he needed was for anyone else to find out his true identity.

"You're bluffing!" Liam challenged. "There's no way Arianna and I would have a DNA match, that's impossible!"

Gabi Hernandez took a piece of paper out of her pocket jeans and unfolded the paper.

"You still want to deny the truth?" Gabi showed him the piece the paper.

Liam took the paper from the latina and began reading it.

 _ **There is a 99.99% match between the two parties**_

 _ **We can conclude that Liam Robertson and Arianna Horton are father and daughter.**_

The blonde's heart sank, the secret of who he truly is, the secret he promised to take it to the grave, has been exposed.

"You knew about this the whole time, didn't you? DIDN'T YOU?!" Gabi yelled.

Liam stood there in shock, unable to give an answer.

"Because of you, JJ risked his life." Gabi raised a finger, pointing at the blonde. "Because you were unable to tell the truth, my boyfriend, your cousin" She accented, "got stabbed by Ben Weston. If you had come clean from the start, none of this would have happen!" tears were trickling down her cheeks by then. "I'm going to tell Sonny. I'm going to tell everyone about you!" She snatched the piece of paper before heading to the entrance.

"Everyone's going to find out!" cold sweat began flowing down Liam's forehead.

"Gabi, no!" Liam ran behind and grabbed her elbow. "You can't tell anyone about this!"

"You lied to us!" Gabi pulled her arm away. "From the moment you stepped into Salem, you played all of us! You made Sonny went ballistic over you! You made me tell Arianna that you aren't her father! What kind of husband are you? What kind of parent are you?!"

"Please Gabi! You can't let anyone know about this! Please!" The blonde begged.

Gabi pulled her arm away and stomped off.

* * *

"So you're telling us," Lucas began speaking, "that the chef working in the restaurant of Hotel Titan, is our son?"

Kayla, with mascara smudged over her face, nodded her head.

"Why didn't you tell us any of this?!" It was Lucas' turn to goes ballistic.

"When I revived Will, I needed him to be my alibi. I needed him to prove my innocence. But he lost his memory. As his best friend, I begged my father to send him away so Ben wouldn't find him!" Chad began explaining.

"The first thing you should have done is to inform us!" Lucas countered.

"And let everyone including Ben know that Will is alive?" Chad countered.

"Then why didn't you tell us anything during these past five years?" Lucas raged.

"He started a new life! Ever since he left Salem, Will became Liam Robertson, successful chef, entrepreneur and he's now a culinary sensation! He found a second chance at love and life! He was finally happy!" Chad pointed out. "If anything he became a much happier person!"

"And you think that justifies everything you have done?" Lucas argued back.

"No! But I didn't want to destroy the happiness he has finally found!" Chad rebutted.

Breathing heavily, Sami decided, "I have to go see him now!" she was about to head for the entrance.

"No Sami! He just found out who he is. He's in a pretty bad shape right now. He's still trying to process everything!" Chad objected.

"You mean he already knows who he is?" Lucas questioned.

"He regained his memory recently." Chad replied.

"Will, my poor boy!" Sami lamented, "He must be having such a tough time looking at Sonny and Paul together! I must see him!"

"Hang on Sami! I will admit that this is my fault. But Will wants to take this secret to the grave. The rest of finding out will be a big blow to him. Let me give him a heads up first." Chad pleaded.

John Black stood behind them silently in a state of dilemma, over the past five years, Sonny and Paul went through many ups and downs to get to where they were. Paul had invested so much time in this relationship.

"This will devastate Paul completely!" John worried.

* * *

Liam Robertson sat by his sofa shivering.

"No, Gabi is going to tell Sonny! This can't be happening!" The blonde was scared out of his wits' end. With hands trembling, he picked up the cellphone on the coffee and began dialling numbers.

"Hello?" The voice greeted.

"Chad, I need you to take me out of Salem right now." Liam urged.

"Why the sudden urge?" Chad asked.

"Gabi secretly took a DNA test." Liam shuddered. "She knows."

"What?" Chad startled.

"She blames me for JJ getting stabbed." Liam continued, "She said if I came clean earlier none of this would have happen! I need you to stop her!"

"I have some equally awful news for you," Chad prepared to announced, "Your parents, they have just found out too."

Liam dropped his cellphone, unable to say anything.

"Hello, hello? Will?" Chad raised his voice, checking if he was still on the other line.

"I need to go see Gabi now!" Chad rushed off.

* * *

Gabi had was rushing through Horton town Square on her way home.

"I have to tell Sonny!" Gabi decided. "I still can't believe he fooled us this entire time!" She was about to text Sonny to come home immediately when Chad called.

"Hello, Chad?" Gabi answered.

"Gabi, I need to see you now!" Chad urged.

"Chad, this isn't a really good time right now." Gabi declined.

"I need to talk to you about Liam!" Chad asserted.

Gabi's eyes widened.

"Regarding Will's true identity, I know." Chad confessed. "I know everything about it."

Gabi was speechless.

"Come to DiMera mansion and I will explain everything." Chad hung up the phone.

* * *

Liam heard the doorbell rang, followed by banging on the door.

Liam broke into cold perspiration one again. "Has Gabi told Sonny already?" he lumbered towards the door, took a deep breath before opening it.

He opened the door, saw the blonde lady and a brunette man standing right before him. Liam took a step back. His parents were right in front of him.

"Will?" Sami called out.

"Mom." Liam replied before turning to Lucas, "Dad?"

"Come here, son!" Lucas and Sami rushed towards their son in a fierce group hug, sobbing uncontrollably. The three of them were reunited again under one roof, the son of Sami Brady and Lucas Horton has returned.

* * *

"Hey Gabi?" Chad greeted "Would you like to have…"

"Chad, tell me what do you know about this?" Gabi cut him off. "When did you know about this? How did you come to know about this?"

Chad inhaled a deep breath. "This is going to be a long night."

* * *

"So you didn't suspect your identity, even when you realize that you were able to speak German?" Sami questioned.

"I didn't know, I couldn't remember anything. I wouldn't think I would be a journalist before I lost my memory." Liam shrugged his shoulder.

"That doesn't matter now. What's most important is that you back home and you're with us now." Lucas grabbed his son's wrist from across the circular dining table.

"So, what are you going to do now?" Sami asked.

"Now that I have found out who I truly am," Liam took a deep breath, "I have decided to return to New York."

"What?" Sami questioned. "Will, no! You can't do that! What about Sonny? What about Arianna? You're can't just abandon them!"

"I don't want to, but I have to." Will replied dejectedly.

"What do you mean by you have to?" Lucas was appalled. The son he knew would never abandon Arianna. "Sonny's your husband! Arianna's your daughter!"

"Why should I return to a family that doesn't want me?" Liam raised his voice. "Why should I return to a husband who pines after someone else? Why should I come home to a daughter that barely recognizes me?"

Sami and Lucas were stumped.

"If I return, what's going to happen?" Liam stood up, "I divorce Sonny so he can be with Paul? Arianna will despise the father who left her five years ago? What?" He said in a frustrated manner.

Sami and Lucas looked at their son, trying to fight back his tears. Their hearts ached for him.

"I won't go back." Liam made his stand clear, "I can't go back!"

* * *

"So you see, if you want to blame it on someone? Blame me." Chad insisted. "

Gabi finally understood the entire situation. Guilt started creeping up her veins as she felt awful about lashing out at Liam earlier.

"Gabi, you can't let anyone know about this." Chad pleaded. "It's not just Will that is at stake. Abigail will also be implicated."

Gabi turned her head to look at Chad. She was caught in the middle.

"Now what am I supposed to do?" She wondered to herself.

* * *

A/N: Hey guys! I want to apologize for not updating this on the regular. My school semester has been really hectic and I've been trying my best to make time for updating this fanfic.

So what do you think? Who will be the first to get to Sonny? Who will be the first to get to Paul? Gabi? JJ? Marlena? Sami? Lucas? John? Theo? Belle? Shawn? WHO WHO WHO? REVIEW! :D

Thanks for reading! I promise to upload another chapter this week and I promise not to leave you hanging… for the next few months at least.


	30. Chapter 29: Cut your losses!

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

Sami Brady and Lucas Horton were staring at the marble tablet right in front of them.

 _ **WILLIAM ROBERT HORTON**_

 _ **Loving Father and Husband**_

 _ **11/16/1993 – 10/9/2015**_

"I still think this is wrong…" Sami spoke softly.

"This is what our boy wants." Lucas told her firmly. "He's trying to do what's best for everyone in the situation." Lucas pulled Sami in as Sami laid her head of his shoulder.

"Hey Sami, Hey Lucas!" The two heard a voice from behind them. They turned around and saw their son-in-law in a long-sleeve checked shirt carrying a sunflower.

"Sonny!" Lucas greeted. "You're here!"

"It's October, and Will's death anniversary is also around the corner." Sonny replied, "It's actually a good time for Will's ashes to be moved from the cemetery to the columbarium. Helps us remember…" Before Sonny could go on, Sami snatched the sunflower he was holding, threw it on the ground and began stomping on it.

"Sami, what are you doing?" Lucas tried to pull her back, "Sami… Sami!"

Sami turned to Sonny, "Who the hell said you can come here?" she barked.

"Sami, calm down!" Lucas pacified, "This is not a good time to…"

"What do you mean by this is not a good time?" Sami cut him off. "This is the perfect time to set him straight!" She turned to the younger brunette. "Yes, my son cheated. Yes, my son was unfaithful. But you and Paul are not any better!"

"Sami, we shouldn't do this here. Not in front of Will!" Lucas dissuaded.

"No Lucas! He needs a reality check!" Sami barked at Lucas before turning back to Sonny. "All Will wanted from you was not to see Paul again! And you wouldn't agree to that! While Will cheated on you physically, you and Paul had an emotional affair right in front of his very eyes! And you expect him to just take it in?" Upon finishing her piece, she gave Sonny a tight slap across the face.

A guilt-stricken Sonny placed his hand on his cheek in astonishment.

Lucas pulled Sami back once more in fear that she will reveal everything.

"Sami, I know what you're going through. Will's my son too! I will never forget how the entire Kiriakis clan treated Will! But we have already gotten our revenge!" Lucas reminded. "We already got even with Victor. Last year, we plummeted the shares of Titan industries and we now control 20 per cent of the company! We already got even!"

"Got even?" Sami scoffed. "This man is running around with Paul Black! Every time Arianna mentions how badly she wants Paul to be her daddy, it makes me want to barf!"

"Calm down Sami!" Lucas raised his voice. "Sonny should move on! I believe that Will would want that!"

Chest heaving heavily, Sami closed her eyes and rubbed her temples for a few seconds, trying to regain a composure before facing Lucas once more.

"I know that even if Will wanted Sonny to move on, he would never rest in peace if he knew that Paul is the man Sonny moved on with." Sami stated before stomping off.

"Sami wait!" Lucas called out while Sami ignored him. "Wait Sami!"

Sonny stood there all alone, tears welling up in his eyes.

"This is my fault… I deserve it." Sonny sighed to himself. He knew Sami would go ballistic on him whenever she thought about Will.

* * *

"Thanks for coming to see me, today." Liam Robertson thanked.

"No problem." Gabi Hernandez smiled nervously, "I want to say I'm sorry for how I have treated you the other night." Gabi apologized, "If I had known…"

"No Gabi." Liam cut her off, "You have every right to be mad" He insisted. "I have been a horrible father to Arianna! You have every right to blame me!"

"You had no idea who you were when you entered Salem!" Gabi leaned in, "Finding out who you truly are must have been a huge blow!"

"That doesn't justify that I have not been part of Arianna's life." The blonde said despondently.

"Well, once Ben Weston is captured, you will tell everyone! You will come clean! You can make up for lost time with Ari!" Gabi assured. "We'll be a family again! Right?"

Looking at how optimistic Gabi was, the blonde's wistful smile faded.

"You will come clean, right?" Gabi repeated her question, feeling a nervous.

Liam remained silent. There was no way he was going to put it nicely, he decided to just be blunt.

"I'm going back to New York." He announced.

Gabi's jaw dropped, she could not believe the words that came out of his mouth.

"You're leaving Salem?" Gabi questioned.

"Yes, I am." He nodded his head.

"Why?" Gabi asked, "What about Arianna? She's only seven! She needs her father in her life!"

"Arianna has more than enough people in her life." Liam let out a sigh. "She has you, she has JJ, she has her Daddy Sonny... and she has Paul."

At the mention of Sonny and Paul, it hit Gabi as to why Liam Robertson wanted to leave so badly.

"This is about Sonny and Paul, isn't it?" Gabi questioned.

Liam closed his eyes and took in another deep breath before continuing.

"Dealing with who I really was, dealing with all the horrible things that I have done. It's still really hard to process everything." Liam said in a resigned tone.

Gabi could see the look in Liam's blue eyes. It was the same one he had when he had to give up his parenting rights to Nick.

"I'm not just thinking about myself." Liam stated, "I have a son to think about." He began explaining. "Devon's mother passed on shortly after he was delivered. I am all he has." He paused for a moment before finishing what he has to say, "I need to be both his mom and his dad. In order to be his parent, I need to be strong enough to get through all this mess. If I continue to stay in Salem, I can't be the parent he needs."

Gabi nodded her head in acknowledgement. She knew that Liam thought long and hard before making this decision. From the sorrowful look in his eyes, she knew it was not an easy one.

* * *

"I gotta tell Paul about this Doc!" John raised his voice.

"Will is already leaving!" Marlena argued back, "Telling him will ruin everything he has built!"

"He is my son, I want him to know the truth! Tell him to stop wasting his time!" John yelled.

"And Will is my grandson!" Marlena shouted back, "He just realized that he lost his husband and his daughter to his husband's first love! Do you think it's easy for him to just walk away like this?"

"He wants to deceive Sonny and Paul forever!" John barked.

"And they will get the happily ever after they always wanted! So what's so bad about that?" Marlena retorted.

John was dumbfounded, he did not know how to argue with that.

"I have to go to work." Marlena stated in exasperation, "I have 7 patients today." She took her handbag which was sitting on the couch and left the apartment, slamming the door behind her.

John groaned in frustration.

* * *

"Liam!" a waiter came in with a plate of steak, "Table 7 asked for a sirloin steak medium rare, but he said this is well done."

"Let me check," Liam came forward and used his finger to touch the steak.

"Kyla!" Liam called out. He turned his head and saw the blonde lady at the stove staring blankly into space. "Kyla!" He called out once more.

"Yes Liam!" Kyla turned her head to look at him.

"How's the scallops coming along?" He asked.

She turned her head back to the frying pan.

"Oh crap!" The sous chef scream as she quickly turned off the stove and took the frying pan to the sink.

"What did you do to the scallops?" Liam walked towards the sink, realizing that the scallops were burnt.

"I'm so sorry." Kyla apologized.

"Look at the steak down there!" Liam pointed towards the table, "Table 7 asked for a medium-rare and you gave them a well-done steak!" He chided.

"Oh I'm sorry." Kyla apologized once more.

"What's wrong with you? You rarely make mistakes like this!" Liam continued chiding.

* * *

Sonny Kiriakis was on the floor helping out with taking orders. Trying to forget the fiasco earlier at the columbarium in the morning, he decided to keep himself busy and distracted.

"Thank you for coming! Please come again!" He bowed at the customers as they took off. Before he could turn away, he noticed his head chef leaving the restaurant with his sous chef.

"Why are they leaving at this time of the day?" Sonny wondered. "Hey Ken!" Sonny called his waiter, "Take care of the restaurant, I'm going out for a while!"

* * *

Sonny followed the two them as they stood in a corner outside the Hotel. He hid at one corner, eavesdropping on the conversation.

"What's wrong?" Liam asked.

Kyla remained silent.

"Tell me what's wrong." He ordered. "You are the only one among the 4 of you who have never burned anything!"

"I thought you said no talking about personal stuff during working hours." Kyla said.

"But when my best sous chef's personal life is affecting her performance at work, I know that something isn't right. So out with it!" Liam urged.

Sonny noticed Kyla letting out a sigh.

"Out with it." Liam demanded.

"Fine," Kyla relented, "I cheated on my boyfriend, and he found out. I tried to make up for everything I did but now, he's spending time with his ex again! We argued about it and he said there's nothing but friendship but do you really expect me to believe that?" Kyla got more agitated with each word she spoke.

Hearing Kyla's story hit a sensitive spot in Liam. This story felt awfully familiar and extremely similar to what he had been through years ago.

"So is he still seeing this ex of his?" Liam questioned.

"I don't know, they often meet at the Brady Pub or they will meet somewhere secluded downtown!" Kyla wiped her tears away, "He says they catch up and they are really good friends but you'd expect me to believe that? I'm going out of my mind."

Liam closed his eyes as he recalled the times Jackson Kiriakis told him the exact same things. He knew Kyla was going down the same road he was on.

"Do you still love him?" Liam asked.

"Yeah, I feel like I'm losing him already!" Kyla groaned in frustration, "I'm terrified." She shut her eyes tightly, trying not to cry.

Memories of Jackson Kiriakis and Paul Narita continued flashing in Liam's head. Looking back, he felt like a complete idiot risking everything to salvage his marriage.

"You are such an idiot!" Liam chided Kyla.

"Yeah, I know I messed up…" Kyla said.

"Yeah you messed up." Liam said, "But I'm not talking about that! I'm talking about you fighting for your relationship. What are you still doing with that guy?"

"I love him!" Kyla said.

"Yeah, but it's clear as day that he doesn't love you no more!" Liam interrupted, "Maybe he probably still loves you, I don't know" he shrugged his shoulders, "but let's be honest here, you are going to crash and burn. Being in a relationship isn't math! There is no fixed formula into salvaging this relationship! Why do you want to continue swimming in this pool of toxic. The two of you are just running around in circles. You asked him to stop meeting her and he obviously said no. So what's the point of this?"

Kyla stared at him intensely, she knew what the head chef was about to say, the words she dreaded to hear the most. "Are you telling me I must…"

"Yes," Liam nodded, "End this now!" He instructed. "End this relationship. Burn this bridge!"

"But you don't understand…" Kyla argued, "I love him…"

"Who says I don't understand?" Liam retorted. "5 years ago, my ex dumped me. No matter how hard I tried to salvage our relationship it couldn't work out! Because love is like a see-saw. You need two people to make it work! And there I was, all alone stranded in the middle of New York, with no one by my side. I struggled through culinary school and worked my ass off in trying to start a restaurant. And just when I found somebody I truly love, she died after giving birth to my son." Liam stated plainly. "If there's anyone who knows about pain, heartache and loss, it's me."

Spying from the corner, Sonny learnt something new about Liam Robertson. His heart ached for him. Sonny completely forgotten that Liam's wife died after giving birth to their son.

"And he's always been loud and optimistic." Sonny thought to himself, "Who knew that he had a walked a rough road."

"So I'm telling you, end this now. Cut your losses, leave him now! There's no point staying if his heart is nowhere in this relationship." Liam advised.

Sonny then recalled the countless arguments he had with Will regarding Paul and how he begged him not to see Paul again.

"Will would have said carry on fighting for what is yours." Regrets crept through Sonny's heart. "If I actually fought for our marriage, he would probably still be here today."

* * *

Liam Robertson entered Sonny Kiriakis' office and placed an envelope on his desk.

"What is this?" Sonny asked.

"A cheque of 50 grand." Liam answered. "This is the compensation for terminating the contract."

The brunette took the cheque out of the envelope and skimmed through the details. However, his eyes widened when he noticed the company which issued the cheque.

"DiMera Enterprises?" Sonny questioned, "How did you manage to get this sum of money from DiMera Enterprises?"

Thankfully, Liam was mentally prepared for the question.

"Didn't you know?" Liam smiled, "You're looking at the new spokesperson for DiCera Stone. The latest cookware collection from DiMera Enterprises!"

"Oh!" Sonny was surprised. "And what does that have to do with DiMera Enterprises giving you this 50 grand?"

"DiMera Enterprises bought me out of this contract with Hotel Titan so I can be their spokesperson!" Liam explained. "All I need to do is some photoshoot with me holding the frying pan and I get paid! How awesome is that?" He laughed.

"Chad is buying him out of the restaurant?" Sonny furrowed his eyebrows. He could not help but feel uneasy about the situation.

* * *

Gabi Hernandez was dozing off on a chair in beside her comatose boyfriend.

"Excuse me, Ms Hernandez!" She heard a voice calling her in her sub-conscious state.

"Huh?" Gabi rubbed her eyes before slowly opening them.

"The patient has already woken up!" She saw the nurse telling her.

In a second, all of Gabi's exhaustion left her. She turned towards JJ and saw his eyes wide open.

"JJ!" Gabi leaned forward and grabbed his shoulders. "JJ! Can you hear me?"

Jack Deveraux Jr's stared blankly into his girlfriend's eyes.

* * *

A/N: Okay that's all for now! Thanks so much for reading. I promise the moment we've been all waiting for is coming real soon! Stay tuned! :D

Please REVIEW! :D


	31. Chapter 30: A grab on the wrist

CHAPTER THIRTY

Paul Narita smiled to himself, feeling accomplished. After months of gruelling practices, Salem High managed to come home as winners of the state championships.

Paul unlocked the door of his apartment and threw his duffel bag on the floor. It had been a long, tiring bus trip and he really wanted to just sleep for 3 whole days. He collapsed on the couch before pulling out the iPhone from his pocket.

Scrolling through the photos he took with his kids at their celebration dinner, the Japanese baseball coach could not stop thinking of the person who encouraged and motivated him when he was at the lowest point of his life.

" _Where is Paul Narita? The coach that influences, the father figure that inspires and pushes this boy and turned him into a hot shot? Where is he?" Liam challenged._

Paul could not help but grinned at the thought of Liam Robertson motivating and pushing him to not give up on the team. He was glad that he did not give in.

"I must thank Liam for helping me." Paul noted to himself.

* * *

"Hey Gabi!" Sonny greeted. "Sorry I couldn't visit JJ these past few days. How is he?"

"He's doing better! Although he is unable to speak, he is able to move his head a little." Gabi replied. "The doctor says he's still unconscious. But bringing Arianna to see JJ definitely kept JJ awake for longer."

"Sounds good!" Sonny smiled. "I should tell Liam about this."

The mention of his name turned Gabi's smile into a frown. A part of her worried a little for Sonny.

"Sonny has a right to know, but making Will stay is just too cruel." Gabi knew if the tables were turned, she would do the exact same thing. She took out her cellphone and began texting.

 _ **To: Liam**_

 _ **JJ is awake. I think you should visit him one last time before you go.**_

* * *

"Hey son!" John Black greeted his youngest son with a hug. "Welcome home! You seem to be in great spirits!"

"Yeah I am!" Paul laughed. "The state championship has finally come to an end! Which means I can have more time to sleep!"

Looking at how overjoyed Paul was, John got even more worried.

"Gosh! He looks so happy today! I can't break the truth to him. It will ruin everything." John let out a deep sigh.

"So Dad? What's happening lately?" Paul asked.

John furrowed his eyebrows, he was caught in a dilemma.

* * *

Liam Robertson received the message from Gabi and came as soon as he possibly could.

"Hey Gabi!" Liam greeted. "I came here as soon as possible! How's JJ now?"

"The doctor says he's still mostly unconscious." Gabi replied. "As of right now, he is only able to move his head sideways but I'd say that's an improvement."

"That's good to hear!" Liam nodded in acknowledgement. He recalled JJ's last few words before he blacked out.

" _Will…" JJ smiled. "It really is you Will…"_

"He knows who I am." Liam murmured.

"What was that?" Gabi asked.

"Nothing." Liam smiled, "Just thinking about JJ."

"Liam!" They both looked to the side to see Sonny leaving JJ's room. "You're here to see JJ?" Sonny asked.

"Yeap, I'm just going grab some coffee, I'll be back!" Sonny told them before heading to the coffee table.

"Let's go in to see JJ!" Gabi directed Liam into the room.

"JJ," Gabi proceeded to her boyfriend's side and grabbed his hand. "Babe, guess who's here!"

JJ turned his head and spotted the man behind Gabi. A glance into the blonde's blue eyes triggered all his memories of the awful episode of the night he got shot.

" _I lost my husband. I also lost my daughter, my family to Paul Narita. I am already living like a dead man." The tip of the gun was now touching Liam's forehead. "If you want to take my life, go ahead. I have nothing left to fear already."_

JJ's jaws began tensing up. He stretched his lips and his shoulders started trembling. His head began vibrating vigorously, eyes still fixed on Liam.

"JJ… JJ?" Gabi quickly grabbed JJ's arm. "Babe… what's wrong?" She began panicking.

"Hey guys! Thought I get you some…" Sonny entered the room with two cups of coffee when he saw Liam turning his head.

"Call a nurse! Get a doctor!" Liam hollered. "There's something wrong with JJ!"

"Got it!" Sonny put down the cups on the overbed table before rushing out of the door.

Liam turned back to JJ. He noticed that JJ's gaze had never left him.

With his trembling, free hand, JJ slowly raised it with his index finger pointing at Liam.

Doctors quickly rushed by him as they quickly examined the patient.

"Why is he pointing at me?" Liam wondered, and then hit him. "He remembers that night. He remembers everything!" Liam quickly rushed out of the room.

Sonny noticed Liam leaving the room and chased after him.

"Hey!" Sonny turned Liam around and held his shoulders. "What's the matter?"

Sonny looked at Liam in distress, he could not help but to have his heart ache for him.

"What's wrong?" Sonny repeated his question.

Liam looked into Sonny's eyes. Those eyes which showed concern, love. Those very same eyes which made his heart skipped a beat. All he wanted was to melt into his arms and confess everything.

"You know you can tell me anything." Sonny pulled Liam's head close to him. "You know I can help you!"

"No I can't do this." Liam shut his eyes.

"I'm here for you." Sonny leaned in closer until their faces were a few inches apart.

"Why are you doing this to me?" Liam's heart was about to be shattered into a million pieces over again. "No I must be strong."

Liam pulled away from Sonny's arms. "I'm… just not feeling too well." He massaged the bridge of his nose for a few seconds. "All the packing to go back to New York has been tiring. I need to go." He said hastily before scattering off.

"There's something going on with Liam." Sonny could tell. He just could not put his mind to it. Initially he thought he was behaving strangely due to the entire episode with Ben Weston but ever since he found out that DiMera Enterprises had poached him he could not help but feel that Liam's recent behaviour have to do with the DiMeras.

"I must find Chad." Sonny noted to himself. He then saw Gabi leaving the room, eyes all red.

"Gabi, how's JJ?" Sonny asked.

"His condition is now stabilized. The doctors said he most likely had a flashback or had a shock." Gabi answered. "Man, he got me terrified earlier!"

Sonny nodded his head. "That's good to hear. Look I got something really important to do, I need to be going. But I will be back later with Arianna!" he took his leave.

* * *

"So you want me to be part of Black Patch?" Paul asked. "What do I know about this superhero stuff?"

"Come on!" John encouraged. "Brady works in Titan and Belle is a lawyer. Which means you, my youngest son, get to take over your dad's company!" John had been thinking about letting his son learn the ropes of the PI business. He knew that Paul's modelling career would come to a standstill eventually.

"I don't know Dad." Paul scratched his head, "Am I really cut out for this?"

"After everything you had been through? Including sacrificing your life for Orpheus at Brady's wedding?" John laughed, "I have faith in you!"

"I hope this job offer will be able to distract him until Will leaves" John prayed. He could not bear to tell him the truth. Marlena was right, if Will leaves Paul would get his happily ever after with Sonny.

"Hey Liam!" John heard his son calling out. He quickly looked behind and saw the blonde.

Liam froze.

"Ok, John is here with Paul. Stay calm!" Liam kept reminding himself.

"What brings you here?" Paul asked.

"Trying to get some lunch." Liam replied. "It's good to see you back!"

"Oh!" Paul almost forgot, "Liam, I will like you to meet my dad! John Black!" Paul turned to his father, "Dad, this is Liam!"

"It's nice to meet you," John gave a serious stare, "Liam." He said the blonde's name with wariness.

Liam stared right back at John with the same intensity, trying not to make it obvious in front of Paul.

"Would you like to join us for lunch?" Paul offered.

Before Liam could decline, someone called him from behind.

"Hey Liam!" They all heard a voice from the corner.

"Hey Greg!" Liam greeted.

Paul couldn't help but notice the change of tone in Liam's voice. Liam's voice seemed to sound perkier every time he sees the Chinese former supermodel.

Insecurities started creeping into Paul's veins again when Greg playfully placed his hand over Liam's shoulders.

"Hey Li! I got something to show you!" With his free hand, he took out his cellphone and began showing him the video.

"What are you showing me?" Liam pressed the play button on the phone, only to gasp in astonishment. "You filmed me singing?"

"I had to!" Greg held Liam tighter. "Look at the emotion you gave in that performance!"

"I sound awful!" Liam pulled away from Greg's arm and closed his eyes.

"Are you kidding me?" Greg snorted light-heartedly. "You sounded AMAZING!"

"Come on, I sounded like a hot mess." Liam countered.

"Oh please!" Greg rolled his eyes, "Even if you don't believe me, you got to check the comments out!" Greg proceeded to show him the comments.

Looking at the interaction between Liam and Greg, Paul curled his hand into a fist as he began glaring harder at the two of them. His mind knew that Liam Robertson was heterosexual and he wouldn't have the hots for Greg but his heart kept on telling him the exact opposite.

"I gotta go!" Paul ripped his eyes away from Liam and Greg.

"But we haven't even had lunch yet." John informed.

"I lost my appetite." Paul headed off with a slouched back and his head down.

John saw the look on Paul's face. It was the same one he got whenever he see Sonny with another man. The only difference was that Paul had more sadness in his eyes when it comes to Sonny. This time, it had much more anger and fury.

"Are you telling me?" John came to a realization. "Oh God! Not this again!" He turned his head back to Liam.

"Look! You may disagree with me but the 10 million people that viewed this?" Greg giggled "You have got to believe them!"

"I still can't believe you posted this on Youtube!" Liam playfully shoved Greg.

"Paul's interested in Will? Again?" John placed his palm on his forehead. "Will needs to go! If Paul focuses on Black Patch, he wouldn't need to think too much about Sonny & Will."

* * *

"Yeap! He will be leaving on Friday. So I want everything to be perfect by then! Got it?" Chad DiMera was preparing the DiMera jet plane for Liam. He wanted Liam to leave Salem in style. It's the least he could do for him after everything he had been through.

"Mr Kiriakis! Mr DiMera is very busy!" Chad could hear his secretary from outside.

The next thing he knew, he saw Sonny violently opening the door rushing into the office.

"Mr Kiriakis, you can't just come in like that!" Chad saw his secretary chasing behind Sonny.

"Chad I need to speak to you now." Sonny urged.

"Sorry, Mr DiMera." The secretary apologized, "I tried to stop him but…"

"It's ok Heather!" Chad assured, "I'll take it from here."

The secretary left the office and closed the door.

"Sonny! Why don't you take a seat?" Chad offered.

Furrowing his eyebrows, Sonny quickly sat down.

"Now, what is it that you want to talk to me about?" Chad asked placing his bottom back onto his leather swivel chair.

Sonny took the cheque from his shirt pocket and placed it on the table.

Chad took the piece of paper and began skimming through the details.

"This is the 50 grand I gave to Liam." Chad stated.

"What I don't understand is why would you buy him out of a contract." Sonny began interrogating. "There are a gazillion chefs in this country that are far more famous than Liam Robertson. Why would you spend 50 grand on him?"

"I like him." Chad shrugged his shoulders, "I think those innocent-looking blue eyes of his will be able to attract lonely housewives to buy our frying pans."

"What are you up to Chad?" Sonny questioned.

Chad rolled his eyes, "Look, I like him, our marketing department likes him, the focus group likes him, so we want to hire him. It's as simple as that."

"Don't play games with me!" Sonny raised his voice. "What exactly are you up to?"

"What makes you think I'm up to anything?" Chad began feeling more agitated. "This is strictly business. We bought him out of the restaurant, I'm sorry but this is just business!"

"Why are you taking him away?" Sonny asked. His strong front came tumbling down as feeling of despondence came rushing through.

"You didn't come here for business, did you?" Chad asked.

Sonny looked away and let out a sigh.

"Look, we all know why you don't want Liam to leave. We have eyes. But you need to know that he is Liam Robertson." Chad pointed out. "He is his own person. A different person." Chad accented, "You can't keep on holding on to some…" Chad tried to think of a proper word, "doppelganger. You need to let go."

Sonny closed his eyes. A part of him had been living in denial this whole time. Although his head knew Liam Robertson was a completely different person, his heart secretly hope that he was awfully wrong. He really did not want to face reality.

* * *

"So when are you leaving?" Sami Brady asked her son.

"I'm leaving on Friday." Liam replied.

"So quick? But I haven't had enough time with you yet." Sami pouted, grabbing her son's hand even tighter.

"You know you can always come to New York to visit me!" Liam suggested. "You and Dad are always welcomed!"

"Ok! Devon's diapers are changed." Lucas closed the door of Devon's room. "Thanks for letting us spend time with Devon!"

"He's your grandson," Liam smiled, "You both are his grandparents. I can't stop you from seeing him."

"Who would have thought that we would have another grandchild." Sami laughed. "He may have mocha skin and not have your blonde hair and blue eyes." She noted, "But the shape of his face, his nose and his ears. They take after you."

"You're just saying that." Liam gave his mother a blank stare, "Everyone says he takes after his mother."

"His laughter, his smile, the way he eats his food. They all remind me of you when you were a kid." Sami laughed. "It was as if you were 22 months old again. I really glad that he's in your life."

"And I'm glad that you let us into his life." Lucas took a seat on the couch beside Will, he placed his arms around his shoulder.

"Will you tell Allie, Johnny and Sydney?" Liam asked worriedly, he didn't want them to blab this out.

"I will tell them when they're older." Sami assured. "Don't you worry."

* * *

"Hey Gabi!" Paul happened to meet Gabi at the hospital cafeteria.

"Hey Paul!" Gabi greeted back.

"I heard all about JJ!" Paul said, "How is he right now?"

"He's doing much better now. He's awake already!" Gabi informed.

"That's great!" Paul smiled.

"Yeap! Everyone came to visit!" Gabi went on, "Steve dropped by yesterday, Liam is visited one last time before he leaves, Sonny is now with Arianna in the ward while I get some dinner..."

"Wait a minute!" Paul stopped her, "What did you just say?"

Gabi paused for a few seconds, "Oh shit!" she cursed in her head, realizing what she said.

* * *

"Ok Arianna! Time to go! You still have homework to do!" Sonny reminded.

"Ok!" Arianna turned his head to face Sonny before turning back to JJ.

"JJ! You have to get better!" Arianna said, "Mom loves you so much!" The blonde girl gave a peck on JJ's cheek before turning to Sonny. "I have to go to the bathroom first!"

"Ok sweetheart!" Sonny patted his daughter on the shoulder once before she left the room. "Hurry up!"

Sonny proceeded to grab Arianna's backpack on the ground before turning back to JJ.

"I will bring Arianna again next week. She's got lots of homework to do at the moment." Sonny informed. "You have to get better! For Gabi, for Ari and for our family!" Sonny tried to motivate.

Just as Sonny turned around to take leave, he felt a strong grip on his wrist.

In astonishment, Sonny turned around, only to realize that his cousin was grabbing him. Sonny tried to pull away, but JJ was unable to let go.

Sonny soon noticed JJ's facial muscles began tensing up, veins were popping out of his neck.

"JJ JJ!" Sonny leaned in closer. "What is it?"

JJ slowly opened his mouth, lips trembling.

"What is it?" Sonny repeated his question, his ear leaning in closer to JJ's mouth.

"Li…. Li…" The patient croaked out.

* * *

A/N: Ok, that's it for now. ONLY 2 MORE CHAPTERS BEFORE THE MOMENT WE'VE BEEN ALL WAITING FOR! STAY TUNED! :D

And as usual! REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW! :D

Thanks for reading! :D


	32. Chapter 31: They both are my siblings!

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

"What is it? JJ? What do you want to say?" Sonny Kiriakis repeated his question.

"Li… Li…" JJ struggled to say the words. "Li… am…"

"Liam?" Sonny asked. "You're asking about Liam?" Sonny concluded. "Don't worry! Liam is safe! Ben did not hurt him in any way."

"No!" JJ let out a higher-pitched screech. "Li… am… i… issss…"

"Yeah? Liam is?" Sonny nodded his head, staring intently back at JJ.

"Li… am… is…" JJ stammered.

"Daddy Sonny I'm done!" Sonny heard Arianna informing him from behind.

"Geez, Arianna! You startled me!" Sonny jumped a little, raising his voice.

"Sorry Daddy Sonny, did I do something wrong?" She asked.

Realizing how he reacted, Sonny felt bad for raising his voice.

"I'm sorry Ari." Sonny rushed towards Arianna and tucked her blonde hair behind her ears. "Daddy Sonny's been really troubled lately. I shouldn't have go off on you. Forgive me?"

Arianna smiled sweetly at her Daddy Sonny.

"You know what? We will get some ice-cream when we got home! Alright?" Sonny enticed.

"Ok!" Arianna rejoiced. She happily pulled Sonny's hand as the two left the room.

* * *

Sonny Kiriakis sat up on his bed, tossing and turning in his bed. It was already three in the morning but he still could not stop thinking about what his cousin was trying to say to him.

"Maybe he just wants to see how Liam is doing?" Sonny shrugged his shoulders, deciding not to over-analyse the situation.

* * *

"Who the hell is ringing this damn doorbell at eight in the morning!" Liam Robertson rubbed his eyes, proceeding to the entrance of his apartment. "Don't you know the importance of beauty sleep?" He complained while opening the door.

"Hey Liam!" Sonny greeted.

Realizing who it was, Liam wished he did not open the door in the first place.

"Please tell me this is a dream." He groaned in his mind.

"What the hell are you here at seven in the morning?" Liam barked.

"I'm sorry," Sonny apologized, "I wasn't able to sleep well last night. And I couldn't stop thinking about you."

Liam's heart began racing. He did not know how badly he wanted Sonny to say those words to him.

"Yeah yeah, what do you want?" Liam grumbled, trying to shaking off the feeling.

"I would like to go somewhere, and I would really love for you to come with me." Sonny requested, "Would you go with me?"

Liam stared intently at Sonny, not knowing what he was up to.

* * *

"Ok, only the bedroom left to go." Belle Black carried the vacuum cleaner into her bedroom. Shawn was at work early and Claire had a gig. It was the perfect day to clean up the house.

"Ok I gotta make the bed first. And gosh! Shawn's bedside table's a mess." Belle groaned. She proceeded to clearing his bedside table and putting some pieces of paper in the trash. She then picked up Shawn's reading glasses and opened the drawer. She could not help but notice a brown envelope.

"I have never seen this envelope before." Belle raised her eyebrows. She picked it up and opened it up to look at the contents.

"DNA results." Belle read out loud. She continued skimming throughout the details.

 _ **There is a 30% DNA match between Arianna Horton and Devon Robertson.**_

 _ **Both of them share the same Y chromosomes.**_

 _ **We conclude that Arianna Horton and Devon Robertson share the same father.**_

"Arianna?" Belle furrowed her eyebrows, "As in Sami's granddaughter Arianna?" She pondered for a few seconds. "Arianna and someone else share the same father? How exactly would that be possible? That would mean that Will is alive which is impossible."

Belle quickly dismissed the thought, placing the results back into the envelope and putting it back into the drawer.

* * *

"This is my husband, Will Horton." Sonny introduced.

Liam stared at the tablet in front him. This very tablet, declaring to the world about his death.

"Will was everything to me. He was the love of my life." Sonny sighed. "There was not a day that goes by where I don't think about him."

Liam's heart stopped for a second.

"As I have told you before, Will was a fantastic journalist." Sonny repeated. "Not only was he great at what he did, but he was also very dedicated to his job."

Liam nodded his head slowly but warily. He was not sure where this was going.

"You know, though you're the splitting image of Will, the two of you are worlds apart." Sonny began differentiating. "Will was sweet, shy and quiet. Will was multilingual. He has love for literature and the arts." He let out a sigh. "If only I put myself in his shoes, if only I knew then what I knew now… I wouldn't have let him go. I wouldn't let him out of my sight. I wished he knew how much I love him."

With every word Sonny said, Liam's heart began sinking deeper and deeper. He felt as if Ben Weston was suffocating him all over again. Only this time, the pain is not momentarily.

"Shut up!" Liam raised his voice to a moderately loud volume.

Sonny turned his head to left to look at the blonde.

"I'm sorry," Sonny apologized, "I know I shouldn't be saying…"

"Look…" Liam cut him off. "Let me ask you, you say you love Will right?"

"Right. I do love Will." Sonny nodded his head.

"And you said before that your feelings for Paul was the reason your marriage with Will fell apart right?" Liam questioned.

"Well, Paul may have been a factor but…" Sonny tried to go on before getting interrupted once more.

"So you are saying that Paul is the one who came in between your marriage. Isn't it?" Liam repeated his question.

Sonny was dumbfounded. He did not know how to reply to the question.

"You say you love Will." Liam snorted in annoyance. "But if you really love Will, would you be dating Paul right now?"

"Will's been dead for 5 years and these feelings that I have developed for Paul didn't come overnight." Sonny defended himself. "We had a lot of history together too! Shouldn't I be able to move on?"

"No one is saying you can't move on!" Liam pointed his index finger at Sonny. "The question I'm asking is why are you moving on with Paul Narita? If you say you love Will, you would never, I repeat NEVER move on with Paul Narita in this lifetime or the next." Liam's hands were now flying everywhere with gestures.

"The truth is what you're feeling right now towards Will, isn't love." Liam stated bluntly. "What you're feeling right now is guilt. You feel guilty because you didn't come back in time to save him. You feel guilty because he died. You feel guilty because his death wouldn't have happened if you didn't leave him in the lurch."

"That's not true! If…" Sonny tried to argued back.

"If I were Will," Liam poked his own chest, "I would take whatever little pride I have, and just leave you. Because I will never want anyone who's heart is nowhere in the relationship no matter how hard I try to salvage it."

Sonny's heart felt as if it was about to be shattered into a million pieces. Hearing those words coming out of Liam's mouth was as if they were spoken by Will.

"So move the hell on with the man you really love, Paul Narita. Because life's too short to live in guilt." The blonde concluded.

* * *

"Hello, I would like to check up on my wife?" Chad DiMera inquired on the phone.

"Yes, Mr DiMera. Your wife has adjusted very smoothly to the environment around her. But not to worry, she is in great hands." The nurse at the Chicago Mental Health Centre assured.

"She better be!" Chad warned, "I may just make a surprise visit anytime so you better be treating her well! Got it?"

"Yes, Mr DiMera." The nurse replied.

Chad put down the phone. He had mixed feelings about sending Abigail away after the whole episode at Shady Hills. While he was glad Abigail has gotten help, he was devastated that his wife was unable to recover weeks after the unfortunate incident at the Basic Black fashion show.

"Abigail's safe and Will is leaving tomorrow." Chad knew that Abigail would want him to protect Will. "I just need to make sure that nothing will go wrong today and tomorrow and everything will be good." He told himself. He had to be objective and not let his feelings about Abigail's condition get the best of him.

* * *

"Ok D! Time for some breakfast!" Liam pushed the stroller. "Just one more day, Li! One more day and this will all be over." He told himself as he was pushing the stroller along the corridor.

"Liam!" He heard a voice coming in front of him. He looked up and saw Paul Narita standing right in front of his doorstep. The blonde's eyes widened. The Japanese standing in front flashed an earnest smile, causing Liam's heart to skip a beat.

"Oh crap. I do not need this right now." Liam shut his eyes slowly, trying to calm himself now.

* * *

"So were have reports saying that Ben Weston was last spotted in Iowa City." Shawn Douglas Brady saw the photo his colleague sliding across the table from him.

Shawn picked it up and scanned through the photo. He focused on every facial feature and attribute.

"Yeap, that's him." Shawn confirmed.

"Ok, I will gather the details and send out reinforcements." Shawn heard his colleague informing him.

"Go ahead." Shawn signed a few documents giving him the approval. Looking at his colleague walking back to his table, he quickly took out his cellphone and dialled the number.

"Hello?" Gabi greeted.

"Gabi, I need you to meet you now." Shawn urged.

"What is this about?" Gabi asked.

"This is about Ben." Shawn informed. "Come to Salem PD and we'll talk."

"Are you kidding? Roman is there!" Gabi shot Shawn down.

"We'll meet at The Edge for lunch then." Shawn proposed.

* * *

"Sorry that you had to see Devon crying." Liam apologized. "He just gets cranky whenever we go for morning walks." Liam entered Devon's bedroom, offering Paul a cup of tea.

"No worries! This is not my first time babysitting." Paul assured. "I changed my nephew's diapers before." Before Paul could go on, Devon began calling out for his father.

"Oh D!" Liam took a few steps towards the crib. "You want to hear something?" he proceeded to the closet and took the ukulele out of the closet before standing by the cot.

"What are you doing?" Paul squinted his eyes, intrigued.

"When we first arrived in Salem, Devon wasn't able to sleep at night." Liam explained, "When I sing to him, he will start laughing and soon sleep."

"Really?" Paul raised his eyebrows in amusement.

Liam nodded his head. "Ok D! I'm gonna perform a Whitney classic." He told his son before strumming the ukulele.

 _ **Everyone falls, falls down sometime**_

 _ **Sometimes it's wrong, sometimes it's right**_

 _ **For every win, I'm gonna fail**_

 _ **But there comes a point when**_

 _ **When I'll exhale**_

Paul began gazing Liam while he was focusing all his attention on the little boy in the crib. His heart melts everytime the blonde smiles at his son. This time was no exception.

 _ **Say Shoop now Shoop Shoop**_

 _ **Shoop Be Doo Shoop Shoop**_

 _ **Shoop Be Doo, my lord now**_

 _ **Shoop Be, all you got to do is say**_

 _ **Shoop Be Doo Shoop Shoop**_

 _ **Shoop Be Doo Ba Doo babe**_

 _ **Shooo-ooooooooooooo**_

When Liam executed the vocal run perfectly in falsetto, Paul felt as if the blonde was cutting into his soul.

Noticing that Devon has fell back to sleep, Liam put down the ukulele and leaned forward to give Devon a kiss.

"Sleep tight D." Liam smiled. He turned to look at Paul, whose eyes were glued to him.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Liam asked, "Is there something on my face?" he touched his cheek.

"You sing like an angel, you know that?" Paul complimented softly.

Hearing Paul's praise did something to Liam. He felt his cheeks getting warmer and feeling more embarrassed.

"Why am I feeling this way?" Liam began questioning himself.

* * *

"Thanks for visiting me one last time before I leave." Liam said as both Liam and Paul were walking to the entrance.

"I have to. I can't let you go without thanking you for how much you have helped me this year!" Paul smiled.

"Well I guess this is it then…" Liam raised up his hand for a handshake

Paul look at the hand in reluctance, "Yeah, I guess this is it then." He took the hand and gripped it.

Liam felt the firm grip of Paul's hand. "Were Paul's hands always this warm?" He wondered. When he wanted to let go, Paul seemed to refuse to let go of the hand.

"Ok? We can stop shaking hands now?" Liam was beginning to feel embarrassed. He looked up at Paul, who was staring intently at him. "Paul? Paul?" Without breaking contact, Paul pulled Liam in and wrapped his arms around him.

"What are you…" Before Liam could continue Paul shut him up by joining their lips together, quickly putting his tongue into Liam's mouth.

Liam tried to push away but Paul held him tighter. Paul quickly sucked his lower lips hastily. In just a few seconds, Liam's defences came tumbling down and gave in to temptation.

Without their lips parting, Paul turned Liam around, pinning him against the entrance door. Paul's hand slowly made his way underneath Liam's shirt, yearning to feel more skin.

"Gosh, I've wanted this for ages." Paul said, nuzzling Liam's neck.

"Oh Paul!" Liam moaned, placing one of his hand on Paul's back and the other on his head.

"I want you Will." Paul said before sucking Liam's neck.

Upon hearing the Paul just called, reality set back into Liam Robertson. He quickly opened his eyes and shoved him aside.

Paul stumbled back. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"This is wrong." Liam said regrettably, pacing back and forth.

"What is wrong?" Paul repeated his question.

"This!" Liam raised his voice, "You! Me! This is all wrong! And you called me Will!"

Paul's eyes widened. He was so caught up in the moment he blurted out the wrong name.

"You need to go." Liam quickly opened the entrance door, indicating for him to leave.

Paul let out a sigh of guilt. While he really did have feelings for Liam, he thought of Will at that moment. Given no other option, he just left the apartment.

Liam quickly shut the door before leaning back on it.

"What am I doing?" He began chiding, "What the hell did you just do? You made out with him?" He placed his hand on his forehead, "You're so stupid! You're almost at the finish line, don't screw it up!"

* * *

"Seriously, stupid Dwayne!" Belle Black complained, "Of all weeks he had to go for a vacation, he had to choose the week when the plumber has to fix the drainage!" she continuing muttering under her breath as she entered The Edge and proceeded to her office. As she took her keys out of her handbag, she heard voices in the room.

"He has made up his mind?" Belle heard her husband's voice.

"Yeah, he doesn't want to stay in Salem anymore." She heard a woman's voice responding.

As the door was not closed entirely, pushed the door slightly and peeked her head inside. She saw Gabi sitting across the table from Shawn.

"But what about Arianna?" Shawn asked.

Gabi sighed, "I wanted to be angry with him for leaving Arianna, but I couldn't. I know how it feels to be forced to abandon my own child. I'm an ex-convict."

"Then what about Sonny?" Shawn questioned.

"Sonny…" Gabi sighed. "Sonny's with Paul now. And we all know how Sonny and Paul feel about each other." She exhaled through her nose. "You expect him to just return and be like 'Hey! Your husband has returned and you're now dating the man who tried to ruin our marriage?'"

"What are you two talking about?" Belle blurted out. She couldn't contain her shock any longer.

Shawn and Gabi turned their head to the door. Their jaws dropped and eyes widened when they realized Belle was standing at the doorway.

"Someone tell me what's going on!" Belle raised her voice.

* * *

"Gee! I can't believe Liam is leaving already." Leah said reluctantly.

"I will sure miss the guy." Kyla added.

"Are you sure you will miss him?" George interrupted, "You won't miss the yelling, the screaming?"

"Don't say that too early!" Kyla warned light-heartedly, "The kitchen will be so much quieter without him! In a week, you will be begging for him to return."

"Hey guys!" Sonny entered the kitchen, "Liam is coming soon! Have you guys prepared dinner already?"

"Everything's check Sir! Your beloved Liam will enjoy everything we have made for him tonight" Lito informed.

Leah smacked her boyfriend on his arm.

"Ow!" Lito exclaimed, "Why did you do that for?"

"Sonny already has a boyfriend! Cut it with the bullshit!" Leah whispered angrily.

"But he hits on Liam every single time he enters the kitchen. EVERY. SINGLE. TIME!" Lito emphasized.

* * *

"Goodbye uniform, I will miss you." Liam Robertson looked at the white apparel as before entering the restaurant.

"Why is it dark?" Liam quickly turned on the lights.

"Surprise!" Everyone shouted. Liam noticed a few sprung up in the air while others pulled the party poppers they had in their hands!

Liam's eyes widened, he was taken aback.

"Oh My God!" Liam exclaimed, "You guys scared this shit out of me!" He patted his chest a few times.

"Sorry Liam." Ken apologized while coming forward, pulling Liam forward towards a huge table.

On the table, Liam saw a cake which had the words 'Farewell Liam' on it.

"You know Sonny had spent the last few days planning this surprise farewell dinner for you." Ken informed. "Keeping this secret has been really tough for all of us!"

"Yeah!" Another waiter added, "Did you know we spent the entire morning doing all the decorations and the chefs planned out the menu for tonight! Sonny ordered them to make everything you like!"

"Did he?" Liam turn to see a bashful Sonny whom turned away with his cheeks turning red.

"Stay strong Liam, you're almost there." He reminded himself. Feeling touched should not be a priority.

* * *

Belle Black was astonished by what she heard. Her jaw dropped. She froze for a few seconds before making a decision.

"I have to tell Paul about this!" Belle stood up and reached for her handbag but Gabi grabbed her wrist.

"No Belle! You can't do that!" Gabi pleaded.

"What do you mean by I can't do that? Paul's my baby brother! It's my job to look out for him!" Belle argued.

"Belle!" Shawn stood up from the chair and turned Belle around. "Will's our nephew! Think about it!" He placed his hands on her shoulders. "Think about what this will do to Will."

"I'm also thinking about Sami!" Belle countered. "Sami was devastated when he died! How can he just watch his mother think about him every single day and still put her through that torture!"

"Sami knows, Belle!" Gabi raised her voice, competing with Belle's volume.

"What do you mean by Sami knows?" Belle questioned.

"Sami, Lucas and your parents have found out about this." Shawn informed. "They have decided to let Will go."

Belle's eyes widened. She could not believe her mom and dad would keep such a huge secret from her.

"Belle, honey." Shawn grabbed her by the waist and gently pulled her in. "For the sake of Will, for the sake of Sami, for the sake of Paul." He stared at his wife's eyes intently, "We all need to stay out of it."

Belle Black was overwhelmed with the information overload. Paul is her baby brother. While Sami had not always been the best older sister in the world, but she knew that deep down, Sami loved her dearly. Keeping this secret would mean she would be stabbing Paul in the back. However, spilling the beans would destroy the sisterhood she shares with Sami.

"What am I supposed to do?" Belle groaned.

* * *

A/N: Hey guys! Sorry this chapter took so long! I rewrote this chapter like 3 times. That's why it took so long.

Song sung by Liam/Will is 'Exhale' by Whitney Houston/Robin Thicke

NEXT CHAPTER aka. THE MOMENT WE'VE BEEN ALL WAITING FOR! STAY TUNED!

Oh by the way, PLEASE REVIEW! :D


	33. Chapter 32: Envelope in the drawer

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

Everyone at the restaurant was having a blast. The waiters and waitresses were having a drinking game while Sonny Kiriakis and the sous chefs were drinking chatting away.

"We all know Liam is one of the best chefs ever!" George said, "But did you know he's also an amazing singer? When he sings, it's like Brian McKnight has possess his body!"

"You know he performed at The Edge some time back?" Leah interjected. "That performance went on Youtube and as of right now it has…" She took out her iPad to check the statistics, "18 million views!"

"He's a talented chef, an amazing singer and is able to translate weird French recipes." Lito complimented. "Oh as well as an amazing single dad! Is there anything the man cannot do?"

Sonny wanted to exclaim in agreement when something Lito said struck him. "Wait a minute!" Sonny raised his hand, halting Lito. "What did you just say?"

"Um… is there anything the man cannot do?" Lito replied, raising his eyebrow.

"No before that." Sonny said.

"Amazing single dad?" Lito was now wondering why Sonny's behaving strangely.

"No before that!" Sonny said impatiently.

"Liam is able to translate weird French recipes?" Lito replied in a questioning tone.

"So you're saying Liam is able to speak French?" Sonny interrogated, voice getting more intense.

"Well, yeah…" Lito nodded, "I saw this confit duck recipe that I wanted to make for Leah on her birthday so Liam helped me translate the recipe." Lito shrugged his shoulders.

Sonny Kiriakis fell back onto his chair.

"No, I must be thinking too much." Sonny told himself, "I mean it's not like they don't teach French here in America." His hands began trembling.

"Sonny, are you okay?" George asked. "You seem a little pale."

"What?" Sonny startled, he stared at the three sous chefs who were staring back at him worriedly. "I'm sorry, I think I drank a little too much. I will be right back." Sonny excused himself from the table, left the restaurant and rushed out of the hotel.

"No he couldn't be…" Sonny shook his head. "I mean that's not possible. They are so different! There's no way."

"So how are things with your boyfriend?" Sonny heard Liam's voice. He stealthily walked to a corner and took a peek at Liam and Kyla standing in front him.

"You mean ex-boyfriend?" Kyla laughed "We broke things off last week."

"Really?" Liam asked.

"Yeap, he was just leaving me hanging. It turns out, he's impossible to talk to." She rolled her eyes. "He got mad whenever I interrogated him about meeting Irving. And when I stopped asking about it, he got mad for not being jealous."

"That's bullshit!" Sonny saw Liam criticized.

"You tell me." Kyla nodded her head before taking a sip of her beer. "So I was like 'You know what, I can't do this anymore. Since I'm the one that's at fault, I shouldn't let you suffer. So let's end it here.'"

"And how did he react?" Liam wondered.

"Well, at first he was like 'No, I still love you but I'm mad.' And then he accused me for not trying to fight for our relationship. And my heart kept on telling me to argue back, fight for him. But then my mind told me, 'No, you got to be strong'. So I went to the bedroom, took out everything I could fit into my luggage and left the apartment." Kyla said.

"Kyla," Liam placed his hand on her shoulder and patted it. "I'm proud of you."

"Don't be proud of me." Kyla refused the compliment, "I still think about him frequently. It still hurts to not see him in my life anymore."

"Of course it's going to hurt!" Liam stated the obvious. "Hell, it probably feels like your heart is bleeding. But this is what's necessary."

"I know I know." Kyla nodded her head.

"You know, I wished I had your courage when I was younger." Liam let out a sigh, "Before Tameka, there was someone whom I loved. That person and I been through so much together."

Sonny's eyes widened.

"Five years ago, that person dumped me. I tried and I tried and I tried to make our relationship work but he was too busy looking at another man." Liam laughed bitterly. "I did everything I could! I even did things I'm not so proud of in order to make sure we stay together. But in the end, I was left all by myself."

Intrigued by this ex of Liam's, Sonny paced a few steps forward. There was something so familiar about this story.

"But look at me today. Ever since that awful break up, I have managed to get a second chance at love, a second chance at life and most importantly, a second chance to make something of myself. I may not have much but I have a son that loves me and a family back in New York that treats me like their own." Liam proclaimed.

"The pain made you stronger." Kyla stated.

"Well, I can't exactly say the pain made me stronger. But what I can say is that the fear of being alone. The fear of not being able to depend on anyone. If it weren't for that person, I would never be able to overcome it." Liam assured Kyla. "If I happen to meet that person down the street and asks me how I have been, I will tell him this." He cleared his throat slightly before continuing. "' _You do care a little for me, I know… but nothing to speak of, and you don't love me. I was yours once till death if you'd cared to keep me, but I'm someone else's now. And he's mine in a way that shocks you, but why don't you stop being shocked, and attend to your own happiness._ '"

"I supposed the man in your life is Devon?" Kyla wanted to make sure, "Since you're not gay?"

"What do you think?" Liam asked rhetorically before smirking.

Upon hearing the quote, Sonny Kiriakis went into a state of shock. The cellphone he was holding slipped through his palms and fell to the ground.

Liam turned his head, only to be completely appalled by who he saw. His face went completely pale.

"How did you know that quote?" Sonny began questioning.

"What quote?" Liam raised his eyebrow warily, not sure what he was getting at.

"This quote you just said about attending to your own happiness." Sonny clarified. "How do you know that quote?"

"I don't know." Liam replied. "I read it somewhere I guess."

"Did you know where that quote come from?" Sonny took a few steps closer to Liam.

Liam's hands were now trembling, "Where did it come from?" He tried to ask as innocently as possible.

"That quote you just said, was from the book 'Maurice' by EM Forster." Sonny informed.

"So? What about the book?" Liam was getting more and more impatient. He wanted to leave immediately.

"Six seven years ago," Sonny's eyes were now fixed on Liam's. "I gave that book to Will on Valentine's Day."

Liam took a step back as his jaw dropped. Beads of perspiration was now forming over his forehead.

"Well," Liam giggled in an embarrassed tone. "what a coincidence! But let me tell you I've been addicted to these Facebook memes as of late! Those inspirational quotes can truly get people through a bad day! Don't they?"

"Liam, I'm kind of thirsty." Kyla said, "Shall we go back to the restaurant for a drink?"

"Yes, absolutely!" Liam agreed, taking off as quickly as possible.

"Liam, wait!" Kyla chased after him.

Sonny Kiriakis stood all alone, many thoughts were running through his brain. "How could this be? How is it possible that he read 'Maurice'?"

* * *

Belle Black entered her bedroom and collapse on the bed. So many thoughts were running through her mind.

" _Belle, promise me you will stay out of it." Shawn pleaded. "I know Paul is your brother but think about everything he had built with Sonny. You tell Paul and it will ruin everything he has built with Sonny all these years."_

" _Yes Belle!" Gabi agreed, "Just let Will and his son leave in peace."_

"Wait a minute, Will and his son?" That's when it hit her. "If Will has a son that means…" Belle froze for a second before gasping.

Belle rushed to her husband's bedside drawer and opened it. She grabbed the envelope and opened it up.

 _ **Arianna Horton and Devon Robertson share the same father.**_

"How could I have forgotten about Arianna? Children are involved in this too!" Belle shook her head, "No, I can't do this to Paul. I rather have his heart broken now then for him to live in some fantasy forever!" She rummaged her bag before taking out her cellphone.

Hands trembling, she quickly scrolled through the phonebook and called the number.

"Hello?" Paul answered.

"Paul, I need to see you now." Belle urged.

* * *

After standing for a few moments in shock, Sonny Kiriakis hurried back to the restaurant to search for Liam. He had questions, questions that only Liam could answer.

By the time he returned to the restaurant, he saw everyone cleaning up and throwing glass bottles away.

"Guys! Where's Liam?" Sonny asked.

"Oh he left already." George informed. "He needed to run some errands before leaving."

Sonny felt disturbed. Why would Liam leave so early? Why was he nervous when Sonny hear him talking to Kyla? Something was fishy about Liam Robertson and he needed to know what is going on.

"Am I just thinking too much because he's leaving tomorrow?" Sonny asked himself.

* * *

Liam Robertson entered his apartment hastily.

"Mr Robertson, you're back early!" The babysitter greeted.

"Yeah, listen." Liam proceeded, "I think it's time for you to go." He took out some cash and hurried the babysitter out of the house. Once she left, Liam quickly took out his cellphone and made a call.

"Chad, I need your help!" Liam panicked.

"Will, you scaring me." Chad worried from hearing Liam's reaction. "What's wrong?"

"I made a mistake. I think he's onto me." Liam informed.

"Who? Sonny?" Chad asked.

"Yes, I think I need to leave Salem right now." Liam knew it is a race against time. The sooner he leaves Salem, the faster he would get back to the life he's meant to live in.

* * *

"No, this is impossible." Sonny told himself as he was aimlessly surfing channels on the couch. "Anyone can learn French in high school. And Facebook is filled with inspirational quotes." He reckoned. "It's just me wishing that he is Will. Yeah that must be it!" Sonny nodded his head incessantly as an attempt to convince himself.

"Daddy Sonny!" Arianna ran towards him. "I have completed all my homework for today! Can I play Candy Crush on the iPad please? Please?" She began pouting.

Sonny held at her stare for a few seconds, "Are you sure you are done with your homework?"

"Yes I am!" Arianna assured. "You can check my homework if you want!"

"Let me go find the iPad first! Meanwhile, I want you to check your homework again." Sonny instructed. "I want to see every question done correctly! Got it?"

"Okay…" The blonde girl strolled back into her bedroom.

* * *

"Honey, I'm home!" Shawn tossed his coat on the hanger and proceeded to his bedroom.

"Belle?" Shawn opened the bathroom door to check if she's there. "Honey?" As he proceeded to his side of the bed, he noticed the bedside drawer slightly opened.

"I remember the drawer was closed this morning." Shawn remarked. He pulled opened the drawer and look through what was missing.

"Crap!" He cursed. The brown envelope was not in there. That was when it hit him.

"Belle!" Shawn gasped.

"So what is it that's so important that you have to meet me this urgently?" Paul asked.

"Paul," Belle really hated to be the one to break the news to him. "Before I say anything, I need you to promise me something."

"What is it?" Paul asked.

"I want you," She paused before continuing, "I want you to end things with Sonny."

Paul froze for a moment. The thought of not being able to stick by Sonny was impossible. Leaving him will never be an option.

"What?" Paul asked again. He could not believe the words coming out of his sister's mouth.

"You need to…" As Belle repeated herself, she was interrupted.

"Belle no!" Paul turned his head, noticing his brother-in-law rushing to stand between them.

"Shawn no!" Belle stood up from the couch she and Paul were sitting on. "You honestly think we can keep this secret forever? Mom and Dad already know about this. Sami knows! Lucas knows! It's only a matter of time before Paul finds out."

"They will never tell Paul about this. Think about what this will do to everyone in the situation!" Shawn countered.

"Children are involved in this!" Belle raised her voice.

"Then what about Paul's happiness? You want to destroy everything he and Sonny had built?" Shawn rebutted.

"The sooner he finds out about this, the sooner he can move on with the rest of his life! It's not like he and Sonny haven't been playing is on-off dating thing for years!" Belle argued.

"Can someone please tell me what's going on?!" Paul shouted.

"Liam is Will!" Belle yelled back.

The room went silent for a few seconds. Paul took a step back in astonishment. He knew that many people are easily taken in by rumours. However, he knew his sister would not be that bold in making such a statement.

Shawn stared at Belle with his jaw dropped, his palm on his forehead.

"You guys must be joking, right?" Paul laughed in denial. "Liam Robertson is Will that's impossible."

"Liam Robertson has a son, doesn't he?" Belle asked.

"Yeah, he does." Paul confirmed.

"JJ secretly took his DNA and Arianna's." Belle began explaining. "He looked for Shawn so that he would do a DNA test."

Shawn closed his eyes regrettably.

Paul snatched the envelope from Belle, took the paper out and skimmed through the details. He gasped when he read through the line in bold.

 _ **We conclude that Arianna Horton and Devon Robertson share the same father**_

Paul dropped the piece of paper on the floor. He took a step back, stunned.

"You really shouldn't have told him about it." Shawn hissed.

"I rather him know the truth than keep him from living in a lie!" Belle scowled.

As the couple continued arguing, thoughts of the man he knew as Liam Robertson came into Paul Narita's mind.

"That's not possible!" Paul mumbled. "Will would never want to be near me! Most importantly, Will would NEVER set me up on a date with Sonny! That's bogus!" And then he recalled something the blonde said which made everything fall into place.

" _Regardless of orientation, I don't have time to be in a relationship. I have a son to raise." Liam said._

"Regardless of orientation… he didn't reject me by telling me he's straight. He didn't reject me because he's straight!" Paul exclaimed out loud.

Shawn and Belle stared at him for a few seconds. They were confused as to what Paul was saying.

Paul quickly picked the piece of paper up and turned around.

"I have to go!" Paul rushed out of the door.

* * *

"Where the hell is that iPad?" Sonny Kiriakis entered Gabi's room in frustration. It was not in his room and neither was it in Arianna's. He searched high and low for the device but to no avail.

"I swear Gabi needs to tell me where she hides the iPad in future so that I know where it is." Sonny grumbled. There was a period of time Arianna was so glued to the iPad, she neglected her homework. Gabi and Sonny have decided then that they would hide the iPad from her.

"There it is!" Sonny opened the bedside table drawer. He heaved a sigh of relief. Just as he was about to close the drawer, he noticed a white envelope with the logo of Salem University Hospital. It had Gabi's name on it.

"Gabi went to the hospital?" Sonny wondered. Since Jennifer was paying for all of JJ's bills, so she would not receive a letter from there. He quickly opened the envelope and was taken aback by what he saw on the top of the paper.

 _ **PATERNITY TEST**_

"Paternity test?" Sonny furrowed his eyebrows. He skimmed through some scientific details he wasn't sure until he saw the results at the bottom of the paper.

 _ **There was a 99.99% match between the two parties**_

 _ **We can conclude that Liam Robertson and Arianna Horton are father and daughter.**_

Sonny froze for a few seconds. His jaw dropped.

"What the hell is this?" Sonny questioned.

"Sonny? Sorry for telling you where the iPad is…" Gabi entered her bedroom. When she saw Sonny holding the piece of paper, she gasped and dropped her handbag.

Sonny turned around and stood up from the bed.

"You weren't supposed to see that." Gabi said hesitantly.

Sonny Kiriakis was glaring at Gabi, fuming.

"How long did you know about this?" He asked in a low voice.

Gabi's hands were trembling.

"Tell me! How long have you known about this?!" Sonny shouted.

"A few weeks now." Gabi's face was as white as a ghost.

"You knew this for weeks and you didn't tell me about it?!" Sonny shouted once more.

Gabi stood silent, dumbfounded.

Memories began flooding through Sonny's mind. He began noticing all the hints that were dropped all along.

" _You ain't the flyest homo in town! YOU'S A HOT ASS MESS!" Liam shouted._

 _XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX_

" _5 years ago, my ex dumped me." Liam told Kyla._

 _XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX_

" _The truth is, what you're feeling right now towards, Will, isn't love." Liam stated bluntly "What you're feeling right now is guilt."_

 _XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX_

" _I did everything I could! I even did things I'm not so proud of in order to make sure we stayed together. But in the end, I was left all by myself." Liam stated._

All the pieces started falling into place.

"I have to go!" Sonny stomped out of the bedroom.

Gabi chased after Sonny. "No, Sonny! You can't do that!" She grabbed his wrist.

Sonny shoved Gabi's hand aside. "What do you mean by I can't do that? He knew who he was, fooled all of us and now he wants to abandon his family! He wants to abandon his daughter!" He barked.

"No, Sonny you have to let him go!" Gabi pleaded.

"Don't you dare stop me!" Sonny barked. He turned around and stomped off.

"Sonny! Sonny!" Gabi hollered.

* * *

"Okay bye!" Chad put down the phone. "The Uber is on its way. Have you gotten everything packed?"

"Everything is settled." Liam nodded. He already double-checked his luggage bags and made sure that he did not leave any important stuff behind. "I'm so sorry for asking you to do this for me in such short notice."

"You're my best friend!" Chad placed his hand around Liam shoulder. "Furthermore, you are the one who helped me. You kept this secret for me so that Abigail would be safe! If anything, you helped me! You helped Abigail! The least I can do is get you out of this mess." Chad smiled, "A mess which I caused."

"Abigail is also my cousin!" Liam said. "I care for her too!" Before Liam could continue, he heard the entrance door flunk wide open. The doorknob colliding against the wall.

Chad and Liam turned their heads towards the entrance. Liam's jaw dropped when he saw a man glaring at him.

* * *

A/N: Whew! I hope I did this chapter justice! Pls tell me what yall think! Love it? Hate it? Constructive criticisms will really be needed for this point forward.

PLEASE REVIEW! :D

Thanks for reading, I know you guys are EXCITED FOR THE NEXT CHAPTER! :D


	34. Chapter 33: Will Horton is dead

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

Sonny Kiriakis flunk the door wide open with all his might and took a few heavy steps into the apartment.

Liam Robertson and Chad DiMera stared at him with their jaws dropped.

Sonny Kiriakis took a look around the apartment, he saw a suitcase in front of him, a duffel bag on the dining table before looking at a completely stunned Liam Robertson.

Liam's hands were now trembling, his right twitched for a second. He could not contain his fear any longer.

Sonny glared right into the blonde's blue eyes. He could see the fear in his eyes. He turned to the brunette beside him.

"What the hell is Chad doing here?" He asked himself until it hit him. He finally understood why Chad was willing to spend so much money on buying him out. He finally understood why he was interested in hiring Liam Robertson.

The three stood still for a few seconds, looking at each other.

"Sonny, what are you doing here?" Chad finally broke the silence.

"You knew." Sonny muttered.

"I'm sorry, I can't hear you." Chad said.

"You knew this whole time." Sonny said a little louder.

"Knew what?" Chad shrugged his shoulders.

"You have the nerve to ask me what I'm talking about?" Sonny raised his voice.

Before Chad could say anything else, the three were interrupted by Devon crying in the other room.

"Oh hell no! Now look what you done!" Liam barked. "Did you know how long it took for me to get him to sleep?" His fears were momentarily replaced with frustration.

"Get him to sleep?" Sonny scoffed. "You are still thinking about whether a baby gets enough sleep?"

"I think we need to take it a notch down." Chad tried to mediate the situation.

"Chad, the baby carrier is in the room." Liam informed. "Get Devon from the crib and I'll meet you downstairs."

"Why don't you take Devon downstairs?" Chad offered. He wanted to buy some time with Sonny so that Liam would take off.

"No." Liam refused. "I want to see why the hell Jackson Kiriakis would be barging in at this time of the night.

"But then…" Chad tried to speak.

"Everything will go as planned." Liam assured. "Nothing is going to happen. Take Devon downstairs and check whether the Uber is here." He commanded Chad, eyes widened.

Chad felt intimidated at that moment. He did not want to ruffle Liam's feathers. He immediately went into the room, wore the baby carrier, strapped Devon up, grabbed the duffel bag and left the apartment.

"Okay Li, think positive. It may not be what you think it is." Liam gave himself the benefit of a doubt.

"What is it that you want?" Liam questioned. "Why did you almost knock down my door at this time of the night? Don't you know there are neighbours around?"

"Cut the bullshit and answer my questions!" Sonny growled. "I want to know why you know how to speak French."

Liam felt his body temperature dropping by the second. He gritted his teeth, trying to think of how to explain it.

"What do you mean by I can speak French?" Liam fronted cynically. "Since when was it illegal to speak French?"

"You know what I'm talking about!" Sonny shouted.

"No, I don't know what you're talking about!" Liam shook his head.

"How do you know 'Maurice'?" Sonny questioned.

"Do you seriously have nothing better to do?" Liam scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Look stalker, you need a hobby! Get a cat or something because you are mentally unstable." He tried to reach for the suitcase.

"Where do you think you're going?" Sonny grabbed his wrist.

"Let go of me!" Liam tried to pull away but Sonny squeezed his wrist even harder.

"You're not going anywhere until you answer my question!" Sonny and Liam struggled back and forth for a few seconds until the blonde shoved him aside.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Liam squawked, massaging his wrist.

"What the hell is wrong with me?" Sonny couldn't believe the words coming of Liam's mouth. "What the hell is wrong with me? You know you have already been caught red-handed and you still want to pretend? How long are you going to keep deceiving me?"

Liam looked away from Sonny.

"You know French because you went to Switzerland to study." Sonny informed. "You know 'Maurice', because you have read the entire book. And not only do you know French, you know Swiss German too!"

"You have a wild imagination." Liam stated, proceeding towards his suitcase. "I have a plane to catch."

"Didn't you say you were leaving tomorrow?" Sonny interrogated. "Why are you flying off now?"

"That's none of your business..." Liam replied sternly.

"Stop all these games right now!" Sonny barked. "Stop running from the issue!"

Liam's hands were now trembling once more.

"I was searching through Gabi's room." Sonny took the envelope out of his jacket. "And I found this envelope."

Liam's mouth had gone dry.

"It says here that you and Arianna have a perfect DNA match." Sonny went on. "And that can only mean one thing."

Liam took a step back.

"You." Sonny paused for a second. "Are Will Horton."

And there it was. His deepest darkest secret, his history which he swore will never be revealed again, has been announced by one of the two men he wanted to keep it from the most.

Liam closed his eyes slowly, telling himself to take deep breaths.

"What do I do now? What do I now?" Liam asked himself, trying not to panic.

The two stood where they are for a few seconds in silence.

Sonny stared even more intensely, he wondered what else Liam had to say to defend himself.

"I can't deny anymore. I have no other choice." Liam decided.

Liam opened his eyes and slowly raised his head. Staring right back into those green eyes, he flashed a grin.

Sonny furrowed his eyebrows. "What is he up to?" He took a step back when he noticed the blonde giggling away.

"Hahahahahahaha…" The laughter soon got louder and more hysterical.

The feeling of victory slowly dissolved. It was now Sonny's turn to feel intimidated.

"What is he up to?" Sonny wondered.

As the laughing died down. Liam fixed his gaze back at Sonny.

"Congratulations." Liam complimented. "You solved the puzzle."

Sonny took a step back. The man right before him was no longer the fear-stricken. There he was admitting who he truly was.

"No, I can't be shaken." Sonny told himself.

"You knew this entire time, didn't you?" Sonny questioned.

"Does it matter?" Liam shrugged his shoulders as innocently as possible. "What difference does it make?"

"How long have you known?" Sonny rephrased the question.

"Are you surprised?" Liam asked, ignoring Sonny's question. "Surprised that I'm back from the dead? Surprised that I can cook? Surprised that I have a biracial son? Frankly speaking, I'm quite surprised by how far I have come."

Sonny wanted to yell back at him, but for some reason, he just stood still and continued listening.

"When I looked back at all the things I had done, I kept on asking myself. Why was I so desperate? Why did I stoop so low in order to keep you? Why did I commit so many mistakes?" Liam went on, "You see, these are questions Will Horton will keep on asking himself. But I am no longer Will Horton."

Sonny's jaw dropped.

"Will Horton would have begged you night and day to stop seeing Paul. Will Horton would have done everything within his power to keep his marriage afloat. Will Horton would do anything to right all the wrongs he had committed." Liam stated.

Sonny stared at him intently.

"But I wouldn't." Liam shook his head slightly. "You see, I have learnt that in life, if something is yours, it's yours. Likewise, if something isn't yours, it will never be yours. No matter how hard you work for it."

Sonny was now furrowing his eyebrows.

"So if I were to do it all again, I wouldn't change a thing. Not one bit." Liam explained. "Because if I didn't cheat on you, if I didn't scheme to get Paul out of Salem, I wouldn't be who I am today. More importantly, I wouldn't have found a second chance at love and a second chance at life."

Liam finally reached for his suitcase.

"So I have three people to thank for the person I am." Liam said as he lifted up the handle of the suitcase. "The first is Ben Weston, for strangling me. Without him, I wouldn't have a chance to leave Salem. The second is you." Liam pointed at Sonny, "If you didn't leave for Paris, Ben Weston wouldn't have the chance to strangle me. Last but not least, I have to thank Paul Narita. Because if he didn't try to take you away from me, I wouldn't have a chance to find true love. These mistakes I made have truly led me to a better place."

"Will Horton!" They both heard a voice.

The two turned their heads and saw Paul Narita standing at the doorstep in appalment.

Liam proceeded towards the door and stared into Paul eyes, expressionless.

"You want him?" The blonde point his head towards Sonny's direction. "Congratulations, he's yours. I wish you two eternal bliss and lifelong happiness." Liam pulled his suitcase and left the apartment.

Sonny and Paul stared at each other at a loss for words, as the sound of wheels of a suitcase rolling slowly faded away.

* * *

"Mr Robertson, we will be taking off soon. Please wear your seat belt and turn off all electronic devices." The air stewardess informed.

Liam nodded his head before looking right out the window.

"It's all over now." Liam took deep breaths, still processing everything that just happened. "From here on out, Will Horton is officially dead."

-TO BE CONTINUED-

* * *

A/N: We have come to the end of the first part! Stay tuned for the sequel, **"I'm sorry, Will Horton is dead"**! I wanna thank everyone who have followed me throughout this past year reading this. It was truly a pleasure writing this! And I have been so grateful for all your constructive reviews! :D

Thanks for reading! :D


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